


Rocking the cradle

by LacyLove



Series: Rocking the cradle...with some extras [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adoption, Child, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Identity Reveal, Original Character(s), Orphans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-20
Updated: 2017-12-03
Packaged: 2018-09-18 18:27:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 83,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9397577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LacyLove/pseuds/LacyLove
Summary: Adrien and Marinette are made to be partners for a school wide adoption project where they must raise an orphan child together. But tell me, How do they plan to keep up with school work, social lives, superheroing, keeping each other's Identities secret AND making sure they get their child in bed by 9PM sharp? Don't know? Well let me tell you a secret...neither do they.





	1. How to find out you're expecting

‘Who comes up with this shit?’

She stared down at the assignment blinking. _Early Parenting Project_ , the words stared back at her like a really lame joke. Who the hell came up with the concept of letting lycée students adopt orphans for a school year just to teach them about parenthood? Marinette pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. While the project itself was fine albeit a bit odd, she was far more concerned about how she would balance that, regular school work, a semi decent social life and oh of course BEING LADYBUG. The last thing she needed was to fight akumas with a juice box in her hand instead of her yoyo. She took a very deep sigh.

‘My life is so comically shitty’

She looked over to Alya to see how she felt about this whole situation and as expected the journalist in training was taking it immensely better than she was.

“Personally I don’t think it’ll be that bad” she said “I mean they give your a weekly allowance to take care of your kid, you just have to keep a journal on how things are doing and they give the kids a daycare to go to. You pick your kid and on top of that you get a partner so i mean it’s not like they want us all to be single parents that are broke as shit.”

Marinette mulled over Alya words “yea I guess that’s true but adoption? We can barely even take care of ourselves.”

“Well maybe this is to help us figure out how to do that” Nino said, turning in his seat to join in the girls debate. “No better way to learn than just doing it.”

He then turned to Adrien to get his opinion but the look he saw suddenly made him refrain. He looked like he was debating with life and death, his green eyes glaring deeply into the paper packet just underneath his nose.

Nino reached out to touch his shoulder. “Uhh you alright man?”

Adrien jumped in his seat, coming out of his mental dispute “What? Oh yea man im fine. Yup totally fine, not freaking out in the least little bit. What makes you say that? Hahahaha”

All three of his friends gave him blank empty looks

‘He’s totally flipping out’ they all thoughts simultaneously

“Ignoring Adrien’s eventual asylum admittance for the moment, how do you think they’ll have us pick partners?” Alya inquired.

“Pick a name out of a hat?” Marinette offered

“Computer randomization” Nino suggested

“Maybe we can pick our own partners” Adrien finally said after finally rejoining reality.

Marinette thought about the idea of picking a partner to parent with. Obviously if she had the choice (and the bravery) she’d pick adrien in a heartbeat. Who wouldn’t want to suddenly become a parent with their long time crush? That would be the dream.

‘But let’s be real here Mari’ she thought sadly ‘there’s no way Adrien would wanna partner with someone who couldn’t even get through a proper conversation without her face turning straight tomato. He’d sooner pick Chloé just for pure confidence sake.’

“Well since this is a school wide project I sure hope we can so I can bag myself a hot mama to partner with” Nino said with a daydream look on his face.

Alya scoffed “Yea cause any girl is gonna want a DJ daddy as their partner”

“Don’t scoff at me woman I could be a great dad. I’d be teaching my kid the top of line life lessons.”

“Like what? How to strike out with every guy or girl they meet? Or how to get chewed out by their mom every time they try to put together a set for a show that’ll never come”

“Look dammit I’ll have you know…”

And off they went bickering back and forth over something goofy like an old married couple. Though some might wonder if the two really hated each other Adrien and Marinette knew that deep down there was a lot of love being exchanged too… even if they don’t know it yet.

But ever so quickly marinette found herself peering over at adrien as he watched the two, observing his bright smile and joyous laugh. There was something truly captivating about the boy in front of her that she could never place her finger on; but to be honest she didn’t care. All she knew is that if she could spend the rest of her life with him even if it just amounted to one day she’d take it with acute quickness.

‘What a nice thought’ she mused to herself gently smiling ‘coming home after a long day. Kicking off my heels to the sound of little pattering feet with long heavy feet following close behind to come greet me. And then there she is, my perfect little daughter bounding down the stairs to tell me all about her day. I pick her up and give her the biggest hug I can muster. Then here comes daddy, big smile and an even bigger hug to match as he sweeps me into his arms her in tow. I feel utter bliss. And then… as my little girl shields her eyes so she doesn’t see her daddy leans in real nice and-’

“ALRIGHT CLASS IT’S TIME TO RECEIVE YOUR PARTNERS!”

Marinette head slams on the table as her hand gives out from under her, jerking her away from her dreamy family fantasy. The impact was so loud that it caused the whole class to turn right toward the sound. Rightfully mortified she mutters a slight ‘“i’m fine” and slumps in her seat, hiding her reddening face behind a textbook.

“...well then ignoring that for now. Due to there being a decent amount of you in this class we’ve decided to just let a computer pick your partners for you.” a ‘called it!’ could be heard from nino who received a fist bump from adrien in response. “Just know that it’s already determined and you can’t do anything about it...just like real marriage”.

The class waited anxiously to receive the results. The teacher looked at all their eager faces.

“You know what? Just cause i’m an asshole and it’s fun i’m not going to tell any of you in front of the whole class instead i’ll call one half of the partners and then YOU can let the other half know who you got” The class effectively booed in disapproval “Oh boo yourselves!”

And so the teacher began rattling off the names of student to come down and receive the names of their partners. Some walked off indifferent, some looked pretty pissed, but most were pretty alright with the results

“Nino Lahiffe” the teacher called out. Nino couldn’t wait to see who he got and immediately rushed down to hear who he got. However though, his walk back was a little less than jovial as he returned to his seat deflated.

“So? Who’d you get?” adrien asked curious

Nino took a long deep breath and turned his head toward Alya who stared back expectantly waiting for him to speak.

“Well Alya looks like you’re the one stuck with good ol’ DJ daddy.”

“Ha Ha. Watch out everyone looks like we got a fucking comedian on our hands.”

The silence permeating amongst the group was deafening.

“Nino, quit bullshitting you’re kidding right?”

It felt like the silence grew louder.

“Holy shit you’re not kidding are you?”

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng” The teacher called from the end of the room

“Oh wow! look at that, an excuse to not be in the blast radius of this conversation; I’m just gonna go check it out real fast.” Marinette announced quickly as she got up to receive her partner. Adrien looked back at her pleading for an excuse to leave as well but she just gave an apologetic look as she had no answers to give.

Turning back to the issue at hand marinette held her breath as she received the folded slip of paper containing her partner’s name. It could be anyone. Nathaniel, Ivan *gasp* maybe even chloe!

“Please god if you exist… at least make it not be chloe”

Marinette then quietly returned to her seat, folded paper still in hand and sat down just missing Alya’s realization and chewing out of Nino.

Adrien looked back at her curious as to what was written on that little sheet of paper.

“So what’d you get Mari? It clearly wasn’t worse than getting Nino.” Alya Inquired

“You know if we’re gonna be parents I’m gonna need you to not diss me every time you open your mouth” Nino demanded

“Then this is gonna be one silent partnership isn’t it?” Alya retorted back not even glancing his way. She could feel Nino flipping her off just outside her vision.

“Well, I don’t know I haven’t opened it yet.” Marinette admitted sheepishly

“So then open it”

Hesitation began to fill her up inside

“Just open it”

Worry and anxiety came next

“Why isn’t she opening it?”

Then annoyance

“Do you think she knows how to open it?”

“Alright Alya I’m opening it!” Marinette said annoyed at the constant prodding

She shut her eyes tight and opened it quickly, cracking one eye open she caught a peek at the name written before her and instantly…

Marinette.exe just shut down

“Mari? Hellooooo. Are you dead?” Alya snapped and waved her hand in front of the blue bell’s face trying to get an answer 

“So you gonna tell us or just play statue for a while cause i got things to do. Nino andI gotta go shopping.”

“Shopping? For what?”

“Uhh for our kid? Duh. We gotta get toys and books obviously.”

“We don’t even know the gender or age of the kid yet!”

“They make gender neutral toys.”

“Extremely not the point-”

“Adrien”

The conversation paused as the group looked at her, especially adrien’s as green eyes met blue.

“Uh yea Mari?”

“I’m gonna be your mama.”

“I’m sorry?”

Alya and Nino watched the exchanged surprisedly amused

“No! No I mean you’re gonna be the father to my child.”

“Mari, you’re getting so terribly worse, go back.” Alya chuckled as she looked at Adrien’s mortified face.

“Oh my god. You’re my partner!”

Relief washed over Adrien’s face “Oh thank god that’s what you meant”. But shortly after delight over took his kind features as he beamed a smile right at Marinette.

“Well then, all I can say is let’s raise a good kid ‘mama’.”

Pale cheeks turned red for the second time today. Marinette.exe has again shut down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly want a shirt with the phrase DJ Daddy on the front in glitter


	2. “We’re gonna be grandparents!”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette breaks the exciting news to her parents...With wildly varying results

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am just FLOORED over how many people seem to like my little brain child of a fit and in all honesty I wasn't even the least bit sure I could actually do this I spend all my time reading that I didn't think I was good enough to actually post so just know I read every comment and I adore every kind word of it. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

“Tikiiii~” Marinette sang “It’s the afternoon, the sun is shining, the streets are clean!”

Tiki giggled at her chosen from her safe space in the purse “A little excited about the results I presume?”

Marinette took a pause right next to her family’s bakery. “No. Tiki, excited is finding a dollar in a random pocket; excited is presents on christmas; excited is a random birthday surprise. I am not merely excited dear one, I am ENRAPTURED”

Tiki gave a long stare back at her host “Yea well, why not take your enraptured self and get me some cookies. You have to break the news to your parents anyway”

Marinette rolled her eyes at tiki’s indifference but nothing could stop the happy train that she was on and she was sure that her parents would feel the same.

“Mama, Papa I have news~” she sang as she strolled through the bakery door. Her parents were just finishing with a customer as they welcomed her home and asked what revelating news she had to share.

“You’re gonna be grandparents in two days!”

The banging of a baking pan on the floor echoed throughout the shop

‘Ok Mari maybe not the best way to phrase that sentence.’ she thought to herself

There was a long pause circulating for a while, but that didn't last too long.

...Because then Armageddon broke loose.

Sabine was the first to break as she gripped hard on Marinette’s shoulders “WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE’RE GONNA BE GRANDPARENTS, WHO HURT YOU? WHO FORCED YOU TO KEEP IT? DID YOU WANNA KEEP IT? OH MY GOD MY POOR BABY!!!!”

Tom was even worse, he was just silent as he wept in the corner contemplating on whether to call the police or commit mass murder.  
“Mama! Calm down I’m just doing it with Adrien no big deal”

‘Why am I even allowed speech?’ she pondered

Sabine just wailed louder over the loss of her young daughter’s innocence, which was not too good as people were starting to look into the bakery to get a glance at the family drama unloading in full display.

Marinette’s father rose up quietly from his spot on the floor “And here I thought that Agreste punk was some good! Well, this face will be the last thing he sees before I put his pretty boy ass straight down to hell!”. Tom then began marching toward the door to pay a not so friendly visit to Agreste family home, his wife sobbingly behind him, but was stopped by Marinette diving in front of the door and blocking it with her petite frame.

“I’M NOT PREGNANT!” she shouted loud enough for even the spectators to hear as they gasped from the rising development. “Don’t you all have lives to get back to?” She snapped back.

Her parents looked at her heavily confused by what she was saying. She groaned took their hands and sat them down at one of the tables to try her best to explain.

***One confused and not well executed explanation later***

“So you’re not pregnant?”

“No.”

“You’re just adopting?”

“Yes.”

“As a school project to teach you how to become a proper parent one day.”

“Affirmative”

“And Adrien Agreste isn’t technically ‘the father’ but is just your partner”

“Oh my god I think they’ve got it”

Delighted excitement filled their faces.

“OH SWEETIE I’M SO EXCITED FOR YOU YOU’RE GONNA HAVE A CHILD!!!” Sabine gushed as she brought her daughter in for a bear hug.

Marinette could hear the collective “awww” coming from the spectator outside.

Tom banged his giant fist on the table “That’s it we must celebrate!”. He then swung open the door to the crowd gathered outside who watched the whole ordeal take place and had grown to the size of an audience theatre directors would have wet dreams about. “Hey everyone! We’re getting a grandchild and in honor, everything is on the house!” He raved. A roar of applause the size of a futbol game swept over the crowd.

And just like that, the most impromptu baby shower broke out.

Marinette was astonished by the outcome. Toys, clothes, congratulations, CONDOLENCES even tips on how to put a child to sleep with just a tissue were thrust upon her. People who she had never seen in her entire life came up to wish her luck on the new addition to her little family. She wasn’t quite sure as to how to handle it but was content nonetheless that her parents were so excited for her and besides, she couldn’t dream of ruining their fun.

Just then a ping came from Marinette’s phone

*From Alya Dahlia* ‘you told your parents about the project didn't you’

*From Mother Mari* ‘pfft no what makes you say that >.>’

*From Alya Dahlia* ‘A couple reasons. A) you’re a garbage liar B) you couldn’t wait to tell someone and C) I LITERALLY CANNOT CROSS THE STREET CAUSE THERE ARE PEOPLE IN A PARADE LIKE FORM GOING TOWARDS YOUR HOUSE’

*From Mother Mari* ‘so i may have told them a little something...’

*From Alya Dahlia* ‘such a garbage liar. I’m taking half of whatever u get from your baby shower’

*From Mother Mari* ‘...that’s fair’

***Meanwhile at a local photoshoot***

The string of crying fangirls on the sidelines of Adrien’s photo shoot was the equivalent to a celebrity funeral.

His stylist looked over the scene baffled “um look I know you’re a teen heartthrob and all but why are there so many crying females on set”

The golden blonde scrolled through his phone for some type of answer only to find it through a quick ‘i’m sorry’ text from his now quote unquote wife (Baby mama was such an ugly term to him so couldn’t dare use it on someone as kind as Marinette, so wife was the next best thing).

“Well it seems the fact that i’m having a kid has broken out.” he said sheepishly, flashing an apologetic smile.

“You...a kid?”

“Well it’s adoption but yea basically.”

The stylist then took a step back away from the model, reached into his bag and pulled out a bottle of Chateau d'Yquem Sauternes wine.

“Here you’re going to need this but no more than half a glass at night.” He was about to hand over the bottle but paused “Wait, are you doing this by yourself?”.

Adrien shook his head

“No I have a partner with me.”

“Is it a good partner?”

“I’d say so she’s reliable.”

The stylist let out a sigh of relief

“Thank god cause I did not want to part with my Pinot Noir.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yea soo Mari's not the best at explaining things when she's in an overly happy mood but l mean who is right? This chapter was a little easier to write and I'm glad it was cause I wanna try to churn out good chapters fairly frequently for you guys who actually like this so yea looooots more insomnia filled nights for this busy bee ♪~ ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ♪~ ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ♪~ ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ.
> 
> Also while I don't heavily promote under aged drinking, some night's you might wanna take the edge off after a long day of dora the explorer and juice boxes.


	3. Marinette and Adrien Have a Child part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I had to split this into two parts because in all honesty they're basically two mini stories too long to be combined into one so for this you get part one enjoy your adrienette!

You know, It is commonly said that hindsight is 20/20 and while most would call that a silly old people’s quote Marinette was feeling it worse than cramps with no advil.

She stood there at the door of the orphanage with the rest of her class wringing her hand every two minutes just trying to effectively comprehend the task she was about to take on.

“Ok.” she started to herself “I am now partners with Adrien Agreste, whom I’ve been crushing on since the fourth grade and we are about to commence step one of our year long project...which just so happens to be adopting a child.”

Honestly it was that last part (Along with the first part...and the middle part...all the parts) that was throwing her for a pretty harsh loop.

But she couldn't dwell on it too long as the rest of her friends were coming around the corner, Smiles and all.

Well, all accept Nino of course.

“A 150 dollar Baby Jogger City Lite Stroller™, A 230 dollar Mercedes Benz E550 Ride on car™, 100 dollars in toddler friendly food and another 50 bucks all spent on Hard cover toddlers books...WHAT DO YOU HAVE AGAINST PAPERBACK WOMAN!?”

Alya rolled her eyes “um in case you’re unaware toddlers tear up paper faster than I can write a Ladyblog post so hardcover books are key to making sure they last longer than 2 minutes.”

Nino held his head in his hands as Adrien patted his back empathetically “Well at least you have a warranty on all the stuff so if anything goes wrong it’s not a total loss. Look at it this way, you could be having twins.” Adrien snickered trying to mask his amusement for his friends misfortune. Nino glared back at the unapologetic blonde “Dude, don’t jinx me like that my bank account LITERALLY can’t afford it.”.

As they approached Marinette in a pale yellow sundress with sheer puffy white sleeves and matching daisy belt; Adrien smiled brightly, clearly showing his excitement for what was to come.  
“Hey Marinette” He said “you’re looking quite sunny today!”

The bluenette felt the beginning of a blush creep up on her face but forced it down to try and talk with her partner

“Uh yea well you know this was just something I stitched together last minute” she said eyes cast down at the stone sidewalk.

“Didn’t you work, like, 3 weeks on that thing? Staying up all night and getting no sleep?” Alya noted passively.

Marinette shot a death glare at her best friend but she was too busy scrolling through her phone and sucking on a lollipop to really care.

“Well however long you took on it it looks great on you” Adrien said genuinely which caused the timid girl to put on a small but real smile on her face.

“Yea it matches really well with ur bright red face you’re always sporting, very chic.”

“WHY DO YOU TALK!?”

Shortly after their professor rolled up to the orphanage in a cab, apologizing for being so late “Again, you get no choice in who you marry” he muttered bitterly.

Marinette took a deep breath as people started filing in to pick out their children. She was feeling all types of things.

Excitement

Anxiety

Uncertainty

But mostly Marinette was scared. She didn't wanna disappoint the little life she was about to take care of. It wasn’t their fault they were left here and it’s only right that she give them all the love and affection her heart could give...but what if she couldn’t do it?

She then felt something warm in her grasp, a hand holding her own. It was soft but firm and it felt sort of like home to her. She looked down at the hand then peered up to see adrien looking kindly but determinedly back at her 

And again green eyes met blue

“Hey I noticed you looked kinda nervous doing this, and i get that. We are kinda taking the responsibility of raising a kid all on our own which is kinda strange and intense...and unethical in some countries” 

Marinette couldn’t help but giggle at his well-meaning but ultimately pointless babbling.

“But the point is,” He said with an embarrassed blush dusting his face “No matter which kid we choose and whatever life stuff happens to pop up let’s at least promise to put our child’s interest first, above all else ok?”

Marinette’s giggling had ceased as she thought about the promise made before her. ‘He really wants to do good with this’ she thought to herself, ‘Even with a partner like me he still wants to make sure our kid comes first’. She then steeled her nerves, looked directly at him and agreed “You got a deal”

A grin that reminded her so much of chat noir’s spread across adrien’s glowing face “That’s the spirit!” he said. “But there’s one more promise I wanted to add if you don’t mind.” He then added after a slight pause.

Her blue eyes looked puzzled. “Ok. Shoot”

Adrien took a deep breath

“Whatever happens let’s BOTH promise to be there for our kid. I don’t really have that luxury anymore with my mom gone so I really don’t want to put someone else through that too.” he said looking away.

Marinette was shocked. It hadn’t even occurred to her how adrien must’ve felt about this whole thing. She knew he had lost his mother but it never even crossed her mind how that might shape his view on the project.

On instinct she grabbed both his hands stared right at his face.

“I promise they’ll see you or me everyday even if it’s just video chat. They will know that they’re loved.”

Relief and joy lit up his face “You got a deal!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awwwww aren't they such a dedicated mama and papa it's so sweet! And also I can't help but pick on Nino when it comes to his relationship with alya because of course he'd be a total pushover she can be very persuasive you know (*・∀-)☆ Anyways that's two chapters in one day! Can I shoot for three? This apple juice and ginger ale mix says maybe!


	4. Marinette and Adrien Have a Child part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so this chapter is extra long and there were a million and one ways that I could've gone but I think this was best and most concise way to write it. I'll write out all the deleted scenes and dialogue and post them to my tumblr (Which I'll link to at the end) but for now this to me I think was my best.

Kids

There were so many kids

All over the place they were running like little animals with just reckless abandon, screaming left and right

And Marinette began to wonder ‘how much of a shot to my grade would it be if i just decided to bail right now?’

But then, the sound of a cane hitting wood reverberated throughout all the noise and the kids quieted down as a meek old lady carefully stepped her way down the stairs, a few kids watching cautiously to make sure she doesn’t fall.

Appearance wise she didn’t seem out of the ordinary with short silvery hair all wrapped up in a bun. In all honesty you could just as easily stride right by her without a second glance. However, in this house and in front of the class coming in for the first time, she held a massive air of dignity but not a hint of arrogance as she smiled kindly at all the students.

“Good Afternoon boys and girls” she announced to all the little kids scattered amongst the house 

And all in unison as if they had practiced it 100 times over, all the small voices replied “Good afternoon granny”.

“We have some very special guests with us here today.” The old woman continued “These young ladies and gentlemen have been asked to come and adopt some of you for a year as a class project. I expect everyone to be on their best behavior for the next few hours is that clear?”

At first there was light murmuring that spread across the children as they were unsure as to how to take the news but the woman called their attention swiftly with a rapt banging of her cane

“Is. That. Clear children?” she stated again

“As a bell granny” they all announced back.

Stepping up to the students, the old woman smiled warmly. “They’re all yours everyone, I promise that they’re all very good kids if not a little rambunctious. If you have any questions just ask me i’ll be in that chair right over there” She then pointed her cane at a comfy wingback chair sitting in the corner of a family room over on the side. “Oh and when you’ve decided on a little one just ask them to show you to my assistant Ms. Belmonte she’ll handle all the paperwork.”

And with that the little old granny meandered her way over to her chair, leaned her cane on a bookshelf and took a long seat back as the kids went right back to their business just a little less ‘Lord of flies’-ish.

And so it began. Just like that students started walking around talking to different kids to find their match and there was marinette not even sure where to even begin.

“Well Mari, me and pops over here will catch up with you guys later maybe we’ll do a play date or something.” Alya said dragging a defeated nino off to find their choice of child

And so she stood there, next to adrien just looking around, trying to look for some sign that a child might want to talk to them but they all just seemed too wrapped up in their own business. They attempted to catch the attention of one little boy as soon as he ripped the head off of one of the little girl’s dolls they backed away cautiously, figuring that he might need a little more structure than what they could offer.

At one point Adrien suggested they split up to try and find a child. However, that soon failed as they both couldn’t approach a kid without over thinking how the other might react to them so they just met back up again defeated.

After an hour passed of talking to kids and them just straight saying no they plopped down on the stairs to take a break and maybe start back up again later.

“I didn’t think it’d be THIS hard to pick.” Marinette groaned throwing her head back in frustration

“Yea, I mean these are all really nice kids but i’m just so nervous making that big choice that every decision feels rushed” Adrien replied.

Just then Alya and Nino walked up to them to share their new additions

And yes that was read correctly...ADDITIONS

Needless to say Nino looked like he could start sprouting grays any minute now

There latched on to Alya’s hip and atop Nino’s shoulders were a pair of boy and girl twins. Their skin just as earthy brown as theirs and Hazel eyes that held a hint of wild mischief that only they could share. They looked no older than maybe 5 but you could tell they were experienced trouble makers.

Adrien was struggling so hard to keep his laughter contained. The intense glare Nino was serving gave him very little motivation.

“So, this little one here is Sophie” Alya started as she readjusted the little girl gripping onto her shirt for better support. “And the one atop Papa MC over there is her twin brother Sammy”

“Aww they’re so cute” Marinette gushed coming up to get a closer look at them “What made you decide on twins?”

“We. Didn’t” Nino grumbled bitterly

“What the grouch is TRYING to say is that we hadn’t planned on adopting two but we just warmed up to them so instantly that there was no way we could say no.”

Nino sighed “While my every fiber and being wants to deny this reality, she is right. Choosing a child may be a hard step but once you click with a child, the decision is an easy one. Besides, I have to admit they are pretty cute.”

“God, I’m so jealous” Adrien groaned “Me and mari have been having the worse time choosing”

“Well what are you looking for?” Alya asked

Marinette and Adrien paused. They had never thought about it before. In all honesty they were trying so hard to be fair to all the kids that they never asked themselves what kind of child they really wanted for themselves.

“Well, I’ve always wanted a girl.” Marinette answered much to her own surprise.

Adrien thought about it some more “Yea same here. Maybe around 5 honestly.”

“Someone that’s playful but kind” she continued

“And energetic too” He added

“A little girl who’s always helpful maybe but knows her own limits” she stated confidently

“Eloise” The twins then said in unison

The soon-to-be parents stopped. “Who?” they asked

“You’re talking about Eloise” stated Sophie matter-of-factly “She’s a little shy but she’s super nice to all the kids”

Adrien jumped up “where is she?” he asked immediately

The twins pointed toward the den to a little blonde haired girl, her knees tucked up to her chest as she played with a stuffed Ladybug doll. She was all by herself but seemed alright otherwise.

Marinette saw her and immediately her heart melted. So she got up herself and walked over to where she sat. Adrien went to follow but she asked him to stay just so that she could break the ice first; He agreed and leaned on the entryway just to watch alongside Alya and Nino.

“Hi there” the bluebell said warmly “Is there anyone sitting next to you?”

The young girl shook her head, too nervous to look up as she scooted over to let Marinette sit next to her.

As she sat down, Mari really got a good look at Eloise’s features. Long and wild dirty blonde hair fell down her back and jade green eye’s like Adrien’s casted down at her little doll. She had a small a small button nose like Marinette’s and delicate tiny hands that toyed with the dolls hair gently.

“My name’s Marinette what’s yours?” She said after a minute of silence

“Eloise” she replied back

“I like your Ladybug doll may I ask where you got it?”

“Granny gave it to me when I first came here”

Marinette nodded thoughtfully “I can see you really like her. Can I tell you a secret?”

Eloise looked up at her curiously. She then leaned up so that she could hear the secret for herself.

“I actually know ladybug myself” She whispered into Eloise’s ear

Her eyes widened in shock

“Really, you do!?” she exclaimed incredulously

“Mmhmm and Chat noir too they’re both my friends”

Eloise was floored. To meet someone who knew her heros so well was an amazing feat for her. And technically it wasn’t like Marinette was lying to her either. She really did talk to Chat on an evening basis, and since she WAS Ladybug who else would know her better? Really she just wanted to see the girl smile and she figured letting her in on that one little part of her life was the perfect way to do that.

“How do you know them?” the elated child asked

...ok so Marinette hadn’t thought this one entirely through

“Uhh” she stammered as the little one stared up at her anxiously awaiting her response “We’re...all...in a club together” she finally was able to say.

“What kind?”

‘Shit!’ she thought panickedly

“Theeeee cooking club!” she squeaked out

Eloise was in shock “That’s so cool! So you must see them a lot huh?”

Mari breathed a sigh of relief “Totally, me and my partner Adrien over there both know them” she stated, gesturing for adrien to come over to greet her

He knelt down to greet his fellow green eyed blonde but she was far to thrilled for formalities.

“Is it true!? That you’re in a cooking club with Ladybug and Chat noir?” She whispered hurriedly.

Adrien looked back at Marinette confused but understood when he saw her mouth the words ‘Just roll with it’

“That’s right we see each other all the time” He said brightly flashing his signature smile “but I’d like to know why you like them so much?”

Eloise’s smiled faded a little and she started to become shy again

“Before I lived here I was all alone, there was no one really around. But then one day, on the TV, I saw Ladybug and Chat save paris all on their own and they weren’t even scared to do it. From then on I’ve always dreamed of meeting them one day so that i could thank them”

Adrien and Marinette were stunned silent. To know that a little girl thought of their super hero sides in such high regard shocked them. However, this is what they felt was right. This little girl should feel that type of hope every single day and they felt no one was better at giving her that than them. It was strange really, the emotion they were feeling but it was a feeling that they knew all too well in their line of work...

Resolve

So with that Adrien lifted Eloise high onto his shoulders and asked her with determination lacing his voice “Well then, would you like to come home with us so u can meet them sometime? I’m sure they’d love to meet you.”

The five year old looked down at Adrien amazed and then looked over to Marinette bearing the same loving smile.

Her eyes filled with tears of joy but she rubbed them away to show them the happy girl she was always meant to be.

“I’d love to! Mama, Papa!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uuuuugh it's so sweet and cute I wanna diiiiiiieeeee. I really like the name for eloise for some reason don't know why so that's just what I ran with. also as promised this is my tumblr where I'll eventually post all the deleted scenes and shit (http://cocoarosalia.tumblr.com)


	5. The Promises We Keep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOOOOOOHHHHHH Y'ALL AREN'T READY Y'ALL CANNOT BE READY FOR WHATS COMING. I highly recommend you have a toothbrush ready for all this cotton candy, cavity inducing fluff thats about to happen (from the crowd) "JUST GET TO THE CHAPTER". Fine you ungrateful asses...can't have shit in this place.

Eloise was NOT a fan of mornings. Sleep, as far as she was concerned, was never meant to be interrupted once started. However, If she had to think of any way to wake up, the smell of croissants with strawberry jam was probably the best was in her eyes.

The sweet scent wafted in her nose gently as she sniffed for the source. She then rolled onto her back to stretch her body.

Soft green eyes creaked open to meet a similar shade of emerald.

She saw her Papa looking down at her with a smile warmer than the sun itself and when she turned her head she found her mama right by her bedside bearing the same grin.

She never had this before. A soft bed. Warm blanket. A family all to herself. It was nice and it made her heart swell immensely.

She sat up in her bed, blonde hair flying free behind her and rubbed her eyes for a better view. “Bonjour Papa. Bonjour Mama”

“Well good morning there sleepy head. you were quite tired from last night huh” Marinette responded petting Elly’s head gently from her seat on the floor.

All of a sudden the memories of her homecoming came flooding back to her and she shot up in her bed.

“Yesterday Elly came home with mama and papa!” She exclaimed “And when we came in it was all dark and spooky so I was scared, but then all of a sudden aaaaallll the lights came on and Nana and Grandpère popped up and welcomed me home!”

Adrien laughed “seems someone has their energy back!” 

But Elly wasn’t the least bit done “After that there was a BIG party with balloons and streamers and presents too!” 

“That’s right and do you remember what we told you Elly?” He replied knowingly

Eloise stopped and thought hard about her papa’s question but she couldn’t remember outside of all the other excitement. She shook her head sadly.

Marinette then picked her up holding her on her hip “Well for now you can just think about it while we get you ready for your play date today alright?”. As perplexed as she was she nodded her head and went back to thinking.

And boy did she think a lot.

She thought at the sink while papa was teaching her how to brush her teeth. She thought in the tub as Mama scrubbed through her hair (No easy task I mind you, she has A LOT OF IT) and Papa washed her body. And she even thought as Marinette showed her her very own dress and shorts outfit she had made that night (but not for very long as she bounced and twirled its starry pattern). 

But no matter how long she thought, the words never came to mind. Her heart sank.

“Still no luck huh” Adrien said to her as they walked to the park, Eloise seated in her favorite spot atop his shoulders. She muttered a sad no, feeling as though she did something wrong by not remembering.

“Do you want a hint?” Mari said beside her. She eagerly nodded her head wanting to know just what this ever so important statement could be. “Hmmm it’ll cost ya”

Elly wasn’t hoping to part with some of her gummy bears and she tried the puppy dog eye trick to win her Marinette over but to no avail. She begrudgingly handed her a handful and waited for her well deserved answer.

“It was a promise that we made to you.” Marinette said simply

Elly stared at her mama blankly. “Well that’s no help mama.” She whined. The bluenette laughed “you’ll get it eventually. You’re a very smart girl”

When they got to the park Elly climbed down her father and joined the twins at the sandbox.

“Sammy, Sophie I have a problem” She said plopping down in the fine material

“When don’t you Elly” Sammy replied

“I’m serious you guys! Do you know what a ‘promise’ is?”

The twins looked at her strangely

“Why would you wanna know that?” Sophie inquired as she packed sand into her bucket to make a sand castle.

“Because during the party mama and papa gave me yesterday they told me something really important and I can’t remember it. I tried asking mama but all she told me was that it was a promise, whatever that is, and I had to give up some of my gummy bears for it!”

Eloise was truly in a huff now. She really wanted to remember what her guardians told her but if she didn’t even know what a ‘promise’ was, then what hope did she have?

“I know what a promise is” sophie said matter of factly.

“You do!?”

“Yup, I heard our mommy and daddy talking about them last night”

Eloise rushed sophie for a hug “Ohhhh Sophie I knew I could count on the smart twin”

She could hear a distinct “hey!” as she whisked Sophie away to the swings so she can finally learn the truth

“So a promise,” Sophie started as she swung back forth lazily “Is like saying you’ll do something and you never EVER forget it” 

Elly closed her eyes in thought but after a few minutes that still didn’t jog any memories so she thanked sophie anyway and went back to playing in the sandbox.

Sunset came and soon it was time to go home. Eloise wished her friends goodbye and started the walk home with her parents. It was a quiet walk, just her swinging by their hands and for a minute she forgot about the whole thing.

That is...until a little lizard had crawled up her shoe.

Elly loved all animals of the world. She loved sheep, cats, elephants you name it but if there was one thing she hated with a passion it was lizards.

So needless to say the response to the scaly creature was not welcome

The frightened girl shrieked at the top of her lungs, taking off from Adrien and Marinette’s hands to try and escape the tiny monster. Unfortunately though, the poor thing didn’t get too far as she tripped on a rock and fell right on the sidewalk scraping her knee.

She got up enough to be able to sit up and look at her knees, all bruised and slightly bleeding. When Marinette caught up to her to ask if she was alright there was nothing more she could feel to do but cry.

The next few moment’s came as a blur. Adrien scooped up his injured little one and ran full on back to the bakery where both he and Mari went into full panic mode trying to find all the necessary equipment to patch up her knee ranting and raving about breaking their one promise to her.

And then it clicked

“I remember now!” She exclaimed, stopping the frantic heroes in their tracks “I remember what you told me!” They both took a breath of relief seeing how she had forgotten all of the pain and as they patched up her knees she fanatically told them all about it.

“Mama and Papa told me that I will always be their number one girl and that no harm would ever come to me as long as they lived.”

Adrien patted her head approvingly “That’s right my little wild child, but it seems we didn’t too good of a job huh?” 

She shook her head vigorously “Mama and Papa were so cool! You made Elly feel better like it was magic. I’m really happy you chose me!”

They were stunned by her enthusiasm. Then Marinette burst out laughing “Well then Adrien I guess we’re magicians now”. Adrien then joined in the laughter and they all had a good chuckle about the whole thing.

“And for our next trick” Adrien claimed as he swept his little into his arms “We’re going to magically get you ready for bed because one little miss had a very exciting day”

They then took her upstairs to get ready for bedtime. Adrien helped her brush her teeth, they washed her up, Mari got her dressed and all together they read a bedtime story.

Eloise went to sleep that night dreaming of the things tomorrow held and more importantly right before she slipped off to sleep she could swear she saw flash of ladybug spots.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God I kill myself with how fucking cute Elly is. I really wanted to have an elly centric chapter so that everyone (including me) could get to know her a little better and to understand just how much she appreciates the situation she's now in. But no worries next chapter will have some LadyNoir all up in yo' faces so get ready for some DEEPNESS SON!


	6. Under the midnight stars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so this took far longer than I meant for it too but I'm just finishing my winter break so I had to get ready to move back into college and blah blah blah excuse #352 but overall I think taking longer to give out a good product is better than going fast and shelling out shit sooooooo you tell me which one I gave you (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ ✧ﾟ･: *ヽ(◕ヮ◕ヽ)

It had been three days since Eloise entered Marinette’s life and in that time she’d been completely absent from her nightly patrols. Sure, chat had been perfectly fine covering for her but she honestly just missed the adrenaline and feeling of blood pumping through her veins.

And she missed chat a little bit...but she’ll only admit to a little bit.

So as soon as she knew her little one was fast asleep she packed a few snacks in a little backpack, transformed into Ladybug and rushed off into the twinkling night for a much needed patrol.

Moments later she sat herself on the roofs of some houses near ‘La place de la Bastille’ just breathing in the night air when she heard footsteps attempting to sneak up behind her.  
“Oh my,” she snickered “is that a stray I hear coming ever so closer”

“Never a stray my lady” Chat replied taking a bow before sitting himself next to her “I always have a home when i’m with you.”

“I’m gone for three days and already you’re laying it on thick”

“But wasn’t I always bugaboo?”

Ladybug pondered for a moment while thoughtlessly scratching behind chat’s ears “I suppose you’re right. However, despite your flirtations you can be quite genuine when you want to be.” 

She then stood up and presented the little bag in front of chat “Therefore, in thanks for that and the fact that you covered me the past three days, shall we play a game kitty?”

Chat tried to feign disinterest but his tail gave it away as it frantically swished back and forth in excitement. ‘Curiosity was always my weakness’ he thought bashfully.

“In this bag are pastries from a local bakery” she stated “your task is to tell me exactly which pastries are in the bag and from what bakery understood? I’ll let you have a sniff now and then again after a run. If you can guess them both correctly, all the pastries are yours but if you fail you have to walk the streets and endure all the attention.”

‘Ugh she’s playing hardball’ he grimaced. Adrien got enough attention during the day, he did not need it during the night too. That’s why he enjoyed being chat so much because for once, he could be free as well as hide at the same time. As long as he had the shadows of night, he could do whatever he pleased.

Oh but those pastries! Even from here he could smell their sugary sweetness baiting him so sweetly to just take a chance. ‘Restraint was always my other weakness’ he thought to himself.

“My lady you have yourself a deal” he agreed with his usual cheshire grin. Ladybug handed him the bag but told him to only crack the zipper a little bit so that he could get a good whiff and guess. He obliged and the caramelized, syrupy scent rushed to his nose like an avalanche.

‘Hmm’ he thought to himself ‘I can smell Gâteau de rois, croissants, macarons….but’ He took a deeper breath ‘there’s something else in here that I can’t place, something I don’t think i’ve had before. Or maybe I have? Dammit I can’t remember. Maybe if I-’

His thoughts were cut off short as his Lady took the bag from his hands and placed it on her back. 

“I think that’s enough for a first round don’t you?” she said coyly repressing a giggle “Now then, let’s go for a run chaton”

“Wait” He said halting her before her sprint “I want to add something of my own to this wager of ours my lady”

The spotted heroine lifted an eyebrow in intrigue “And what, pray tell, would that be alley cat”

“If I win you must tell me where you’ve been the past three days”

She flinched ‘hmph playing hardball are we? Well he’s had three days all on his own so he’s got to be fatigued”

“Very well kitty I’ll take you up on your offer let’s just hope you don’t mind the spotlight!”

And with that Ladybug raced off the roof, hooking her yoyo on a lamp post and swinging off into the open night air

“I swear on my life I’m going to marry that girl” Chat said with an ever growing grin. Hopping up to stand straight the feline themed hero raced after her, tail flying wildly behind him.

Ladybug felt like her heart could burst with joy at any minute. ‘God I needed this!’ she thought as her feet pounded on rooftop. She could feel chat keeping close behind her so just for a little fun she made an abrupt stop and zipped around a quick corner thinking she lost him.

“Silly kitty” She chuckled “who would’ve guessed three days without me could dull your reaction time”

“Dull them my lady?” Chat said faking a hurt voice “Hardly.”

Ladybug grounded her heels into the gravel below her feet to slow her momentum, only just bumping her nose into chat’s admittedly broad chest just below his collarbone.

‘Fuck, he’s tall’ she thought with her face beginning to flare pink.

Chat was doing no better as he could feel her breath ghosting over his skin ‘dammit, the one time I pull the zipper down a little’

Shaking off the goosebumps rising on his arms chat fell back into his playful side.

“Now then my beautiful busy bug” Chat purred as he bent down to look into Ladybug’s stunning blue eyes “What exactly were you hoping achieve running away like that”

Marinette felt cornered for some reason; like how a cat corners a mouse. But she was never one to back down from a challenge.

“Wanted to see if you could keep up” she asserted not moving from her spot.

The low rumble of chat’s laugh made the hairs on the back of ladybug’s neck stand on ends and most certainly not in the bad way.

“Then now I pass the question onto you my lady” He stepped away to the edge of the roof “Can you keep up?”

He jumped off using his baton to launch himself a good building and a half away, shortly after breaking onto a full on sprint.

“If I wasn’t in love with adrien, and we weren’t sharing a child right now” She muttered to herself, still frozen in place “I would rock his kitty cat world”

And so began their game. Each trying to simultaneously keep up and lose the other. They leaped up buildings, swung around corners, slipped down alleyways to hide in the darkness. It didn’t really matter where they wound up; to them it was the rush that pushed their bodies forward. The air tasted sweet and Ladybug felt like she would never stop.

Alas though, body limits are a very cruel mistress and it wasn’t too long before they had all but collapsed atop the roof of the louvre. Their chest heaving for even a glimpse of air.

“So maybe going on a full parkour match across paris after being gone for three days wasn’t the stellar idea i thought it was” She said feeling like she was going to hurl. 

“Bugaboo, I’m REALLY gonna need you to think of stuff like that before bringing us to the edge of death” Chat wished he could laugh with his statement but he needed every drop of air he could get in his lungs.

“Don’t black out on me yet chaton, there’s still our game”.

Chat groaned

“You know I could keep the pastries you know-” The bag was snatched right out from under her nose 

He unzipped the bag, taking yet another hit of the confectionary sweetness. The smell was stronger now from his running. He thought it might hinder his guess and he’d be forced to walk the busy streets.

But then it hit him.

“Gâteau de rois, croissants, macarons AND you tried to slip me up with the beignets!”  
Marinette made a sound of disdain “Fine. But you still have to guess where they’re from”

Chat visibly flinched and sniffed again, this time gentler. He tried to think of all the bakeries in paris to help him but his mind couldn’t shake off the memories that flooded back to him.

‘I can smell Marinette’s shop with these pastries” he contemplated, his body relaxing ‘I can smell all those times her parents took care of me as if I were their own and moreover I can even smell my little ray of sunshine greeting me every morning. I don’t have very many memories with her yet but they’re sweet like these.’

“These are from the bakery on 12 Rue Gotlib, 21st arrondissement. Tom and Sabine’s bakery I think it’s called”

Ladybug sighed in defeat “Very well kitty the pastries are yours”

Trust me when I say that you did NOT need to tell him twice. Leaving a beignet and a croissant for his lady like a gentleman he wasted no time gobbling down the other sweets, having to stop only to drink some of the juice his crush gave him to keep him from choking.

They relaxed on the roof overlooking the louvre, watching people walk in and out as they pleased. The night was quiet and peaceful. The sight was even better as the river seine glittered with the city lights.

“She would adore it up here” Marinette mused to herself smiling as she pictured Eloise running all around the courtyard and finding the garden flowers far more beautiful than the centuries old art housed inside.

“Who would my spotted lady” Chat replied

‘I should totally become mute for the rest of my life’

She tried to come up with a quick excuse “umm no one kitty just a crazy thought from a sleep deprived heroine you know this job makes me crazy sometimes haha”

Chat was not buying it. Not even for a dime. But he still played along for her sake.

“Oh of course my silly mistake. Just one more question...just where were you the past three days”

Nothing…and I mean nothing was coming to mind to pass off where she was. Out on holiday? Its March. Family trouble? He’d ask further. Bad gas? She might be fighting baddies but she was still a lady of distinction dammit.

She had to admit defeat

“I’ve been taking care of someone. A niece of mine”

Well...not the whole defeat

“She’s only been with us 3 days now and she’s five so I had to make sure she was comfortable in my home”

“That’s all you had to say bugaboo. If it’s family matters I can’t question that” Chat thought about his lady with a little girl strapped to her hip and for a moment his partner and Elly flashed through his mind.

Ladybug breathed a sigh of relief but then paused for a moment.

“Do you ever want kids Chat” 

Adrien almost choked on the juice he was drinking but covered it up smoothly (Not really don’t let him fool you)

“Well My lady while I’m not quite there yet. To have little ones running around in catbug like costumes with you would be a dream come true and I could confidently say that I’d die a very happy man”

Ladybug went to interrupt but the thespian wasn’t quite done yet as he hopped up on the ledge of the building.

“And to think! Waking up each morning to the sound of little feet running around sending them off on their way to school. The soccer practices, spelling bees, imagine the PTA meetings!”

“Chat I’m gonna need you to really focus here for a second you went so far to the left”

He plopped back down by her side

“Fine. To be honest I’ve definitely thought about it and one day I most assuredly do wanna do the whole ‘cookies and juice box’ thing.”

Marinette was surprised by his candidness. Not that she didn’t think he could be serious she just was pleasantly taken aback by how instantly he could give his answer to something so far in the future.

“How many would you want” she asked genuinely curious

“2, one noble prince and one precious princess”

“You’d spoil them wouldn’t you”

“Absolutely rotten” He then took a pause “But you know, I’d have to give all this up to do it.”

Ladybug was shocked “Why would you wanna do that? There’s so much you’d be giving up”

“Yea I know” Chat agreed “But the way I see it working a full time job then leaping out here every night to save paris I wouldn’t have time to be a real dad for them and that to me is more important. Plus god forbid dear old Hawkmoth found out about them I could never forgive myself.”

She mulled over chat’s words. He was right that there’d be an increase of danger and the work life balance would run her terrifyingly ragged but “I don’t think I could ever give this up”

Adrien looked over to her and saw her face lit up with a sense of determination “You are right kitty but honestly for me I’d be more fired up to fight.” She toyed with one of her pigtails. “I could never imagine just passing this life off on some other unsuspecting teenager just trying to make it through her own life. Plus as they say ‘If you want paris saved right, you simply must save it yourself”

Chat laughed at that last statement “You are truly something all your own my lady. I guess we know who’d be staying home and making dinner”

“Whatever you stupid cat. I could be domesticated if I wanted to be.”

“The very thought of you in an apron making breakfast makes my heart all a flutter”

“Oh shut up you stray”

Ladybug then rolled backwards into a standing position and told chat that it was time for patrol to be over. He agreed and right before they parted ways Marinette left him with a thought

“You know if you were to have kids they’d be complete wild childs, but I won’t deny they’d also have hearts of gold.”

“And if you were to grace the world with your children they’d be maddeningly stubborn but unquestionably loyal” 

They then took their leave, both wondering how their wildly loyal Elly would do on her first day of kindergarten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got nothing for this end other than writing for ladynoir wasn't as harrowing as I thought I just had to make sure I didn't write them into giving out immediate information but yea next chapter is gonna be on kindergarten....enjoy the sandbox ~(˘▾˘~)


	7. Backpacks and comparisons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yea soooooo this chapter took forever to write due to college and in all honesty I might come back and revise it but I found it more important that you guys get a good chapter to read. Besides the next few chapters are gonna be hella fun so enjoy!

Marinette was feeling pretty proud of herself as a new parent. Despite her midnight run with Chat she stayed up all night making sure Elly’s first day of school would go smooth as silk. Made her clothes, made her lunch, packed her bags, all the things a proper mother should do.

Now if only Eloise could appreciate her mama’s hard work as much as she did.

Elly was struggling so hard to stay up straight, her body lurching from side to side as she was weighed down by her heavy pastel yellow lamb backpack.

“What did you do to my grandchild” Sabine questioned from the bakery counter.

Marinette exuded pride over her work “Prepared her mother. Elly has everything she needs for her first day.”

Sabine was unimpressed “Really now? Elly my dumpling may I see your book bag?”

The kindergartener was more than happy to drop the lead heavy bag off her back. Sabine hoisted in onto the counter, opened it up, and pulled out the contents.

“School supplies, Lunch box, Extra clothes as a just in case. Ok so far so good” Marinette smiled smugly, feeling overly proud.

Marinette’s mother looked up at her blankly “Calculator? Really?”

“She might need it.”

“She’s five”

“A smart five year old”

Sabine disregarded her comment and continued “College ruled notebook, a protractor, a usb drive, an IPAD!?”

OK, now Marinette was feeling less confident and smug “Maybe she’ll want to type her notes out?”   
Again she was ignored as the new grandmother pulled out useless item after unimportant item, leaving the bag with barely half of what was originally packed.

She gave it back to a very grateful Eloise and returned back to her misguided daughter.

“Listen honey, I know first days are hard for a parent.” She said sympathetically. “Trust me it took everything in me to let you go for the first time. But, Eloise is a good girl and a very smart one at that so I want you to trust that she’ll be ok, got it? For me, cause I can’t check her backpack everyday for things like this” she held up the pink decorative Ipad, chuckling.

The blushing bluenette nodded, feeling silly about how nervous she was. Elly was a very good girl, but with all that she surely has gone through, separating from her almost felt like betrayal and she couldn’t forgive herself if her little one ever felt the same.

‘But mom is right’ She thought to herself as she walked herself and Eloise out the door ‘I do need to trust Elly more.’

Elly then broke herself from her mother’s hand to run into Adrien’s arms “Papa!”

“And how is my little ray of sunshine this fine morning” He replied, hoisting her up onto his hip with a smile that could melt anyone’s heart

“Mama packed my bag with too much and it made me fall over and over. Nana emptied it but now my back hurts” Marinette blushed at her bluntness 

“Haha, well how about I make it better with a gift?”.

Little green eyes lit up in excitement “Really? You mean it!?”

“Of course anything for my little sunbeam”

Eloise was beyond excited she climbed down her father’s side and bounced up and down elated to know what her gift would be.

Adrien reached into his backpack and pulled out two little gift bags “Ok elly, pink or yellow?”

Marinette stifled a giggle as she saw Elly deep in thought. “Pink” she said decisively, figuring that she had enough yellow with her giant lamby book bag.

Her papa handed her the bag and wasted no time ripping it apart revealing a yellow padded, highly decorated iPhone. She couldn’t be happier as she ran around her papa’s legs hugging him in thanks

Her mama was a little less thrilled “A phone though? Who does she need to call?”

A proud grin spread across her partners face “Ah ah, this is no phone. It’s just a state of the art version of a walkie talkie. All she can really do is press a button to call one of us if she’s in trouble and we can video chat and radio her whenever we need to check in.”

...ok now Elly was a little less delighted

She tugged on her papa’s pant leg and with a blank disapproving expression politely asked if he could take it back, stating that she was a big girl and was only going to daycare.

‘Well, she’s certainly taking on my polite stubbornness.’ Marinette thought as she patted a dejected Adrien’s back.

“But I special ordered it just for her” He whined

“Yes, yes. Trust me I know the feeling. But, she is a very bright little girl and she’s survived before us so I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

“And I had programmed so many games into it too.”

Again, there was a tug on Adrien’s pant leg. He looked down to see a bashful look on Elly’s face as she twiddled her fingers, too embarrassed to look up at him.

“Papa,” She started on a wavering voice “I feel really bad for what I said earlier. I can understand if you don’t want me to have it anymore but… I’d really like to have my gift back. It was a great gift and I shouldn’t have given it back so meanly so...I’m sorry papa”

There were tears in the big blond’s eyes as Elly put on her best puppy dog face. His heart melted into a warm pile of goo.

 

“Oh, I could never be mad at my little ray of sunshine! You’re way too cute to say no to! you can have it back sweetheart!” He exclaimed as he spun her around in his arms.

‘So she’s an actress too, huh? She really is a bright girl.’ Marinette thought to herself. She didn’t have the heart to break up the scene though so she let them have their Father/Daughter bonding time.

After showing up to school, dropping their little one off at kindergarten (Which took far too long, to the point where the teacher had to shoo them away and they were almost late to class) they took their respective seats and awaited for class to begin.

Their teacher came into the room a few minutes later, although slightly tipsy. Clearly they had a fun time last night and was kicking them in the ass today.

“So, as you can see class last night was a hoot for me” The professor said finally with a slurred voice and head planted firmly on the podium “And therefore, because I have a raging hangover and am practically comatose, I would like for you to converse with fellow parent groups and share your experiences...or don’t. Quite frankly I’m about 15 seconds away from vomiting on the floor sooo have fun with that.” And with that the teacher just...quietly laid down on the floor face down and awaited the sweet embrace of blackness.

“Sooo, how’s my niece?” Alya said after ignoring the blatant display of irresponsibility.

“Turns out she’s turning into quite the little actress. She played Adrien’s heart like a fiddle”

“Hey!” the blond interjected while his best friend laughed at him “My Elly was truly remorseful for her actions. Did you even see the broken tears in her eyes?”

The blue eyed girl held back a laugh (But only barely) “Was that before or after you shared that you put games on her borderline iPhone”

Adrien had no real comeback for that.

“Really man? An iPhone? Look I know you’re rich but don’t rub it that clearly in our faces.” Nino retorted

“It was a walkie talkie!”

“With facetime and Mario run attached”

“Ok a very helpful walkie talkie”

Alya rolled her eyes “Well Sammy and Sophie have been a total dream when it comes to adjusting; I mean, they’re already calling me mama and they’re super helpful around the house”

Nino snorted as Alya cooed about their shared toddlers. “Do you have something to share DJ Daddy.”

“Oh no not at all Mama Wifi I was just thinking that blogging must be a great way to keep oneself in denial if that’s how you see them.”

The blond and blue parent pair could already see that things were about to go south so they just kept quiet to avoid any cross fire.

“What the hell are you talking about Nino” she growled, pissed that he would ever say anything negative about her babies.

“I’m just saying that whenever I’m with them they’re class A trouble makers. Pranks, destruction, the complete ruin that is my laptop.”

“Oh please, they clicked around on one song. You will make it I promise.”

Nino was exasperated “ONE SONG, That song is a mix which took me a month to cultivate!”

“They say destruction is just the breeding ground for creativity” Adrien chimed

“Can it golden boy or I share what’s under your bed.” Adrien stayed silent “Alya are you really about to tell me that they’ve never acted out with you”

Alya just shook her head.  
“This is insanity and I am no longer having this conversation anymore.” The aspiring DJ then got up and left the class for the bathroom to regain his sanity.

“Hah, having parental troubles are we?” said a smug and pampered voice from the opposing side of the room.

“What do you want Chloe” Alya snapped back

“Oh nothing I just think it’s interesting how you can’t even handle taking care of two 5 year olds. Don’t you have 2 sisters at home anyway? With a house that crowded I can imagine they would get claustrophobic.” Chloe then let out an obnoxious laugh that filled the classroom. Alya would’ve gotten up and punched the air out of her but a calm voiced seemed to handle it for her.

“You do realize that last night our son Noah kept sneezing and you had a whole fit about it right? All of a sudden armageddon broke loose and you called every doctor in paris to come and fix it only to find out that it was cause he was allergic to the perfume you used. You then took three consecutive showers, cuddled and apologized to him until you both fell asleep”

It was unbelievable the pride was evaporated right out of her as her flushed red face whipped around to scream at a very uninterested Nathaniel who was doodling away at his art book. 

“Well you’re the one who decided to spend hours on some painting of him” She fumed at the red-head

“Oh no how dare I, An aspiring artist, work on a piece of artwork on my adoptive son. What was I thinking?”

She was raging hard but no one was convinced; It was clear that despite her anger she really was just an overly concerned parent like the rest of them. 

Honestly Marinette was surprised. She thought this project would be hell for Chloe just for appearances sake, but to see how far she would go to take care of a kid who was in no way related to her AND she hadn’t known for more than three days? It showed that the queen bee had a heart and in all honesty the secret hero could really admire than about her. 

But that’s how class went, everyone just talking back and forth about their kids and their different quirks. It was nice seeing how much everyone cared and more importantly how genuine everyone was about making sure they were good parents to children less fortunate than them.

It was heart warming really once Mari really thought about it. And then she looked over at Adrien laughing along with the whole class. Her mind began to wander. ‘How does Adrien really feel about all this. Yea he loves Elly and all that but...does he mind doing it with me? Ugh and on top of that I haven’t even been consider it enough to take her to meet his father. God, I’m a terrible partner’ Her face visibly fell and she put her head on her desk, quietly moping.

Which didn’t go unnoticed. 

“Hey Marinette you ok?” She had heard him say. Her head popped up instantly to give him her full attention. She then realized how silly she must look and retracted. 

“Oh yea totally just tired. You know, up all night making sure Elly was ready for school.”

She thought she had covered up her downer mood well enough to get him off her scent

But what he said next made her realize that she could never be a criminal in her entirely life.

“Well if that’s the case this friday let me take her off your hands for the weekend”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooooo Elly gets to meet Papa Gabe. Now that's gonna be hella fun. I would love and adore If I could get some help with Ideas for these chapters so if you have an idea, comment. If you have constructive criticism, comment. If you just wanna call my work hilarious and/or funny, EXTRA COMMENT. Anything and everything is super duper appreciated. Lacy is now off to go write an Anthropological paper on the importance of progress in a society...isn't college GREAT ( ಥ﹏ಥ) ( ಥ﹏ಥ) ( ಥ﹏ಥ)


	8. Meeting Grandpa Gabe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The happy family come across one of their biggest challenges yet...Gabriel Agreste Σ(゜ロ゜;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'm doing really well with this whole pacing myself throughout the week thing. Anyway, yaaaaay new chapter and yaaaaay Gabe and Elly fluff

He really had only meant to be nice. Not saying that he didn’t want to help take care of his own daughter, but in the moment he hadn’t really considered all that came with the offer. Like getting her a bed, and have proper food available...and her wanting to meet his father.

That last one though he was REALLY struggling to come to grips with.

He was sure that his father would never harm Eloise. At least, not physically. No, it was more the emotional trauma that he had grown accustomed to that concerned him more. It’s a lot for a child to take when your own father neglects you and is just never around. It’s why he made such a dedicated effort to be in every aspect of Elly’s life and not just the big events.

So overall, he was pretty shook about the whole damn thing.

And Marinette was doing literally no better.

How do you tell someone that A) their crush and project partner just agreed to take your adoptive daughter off your hands for the weekend and B) That crush’s father also happens to be one of your fashion icons? Of which you will probably meet?

How might they react to that?

The answer? Not too terribly well in all honesty

Sleep became a fantasy along with unicorns and good grades. She spent every night designing and redesigning the perfect outfit for Elly, sewing and stitching making sure it laid beautifully on her petite frame. She even etched her name in gold on her blue jean button up top. It took forever and she was pretty sure that she looked like a raccoon but all that mattered was that Elly looked her absolute best.

That friday morning the sleep deprived heroine woke her daughter up early with the smell of sweets, did her hair up nicely in a pretty red bow sprinkled with glitter and got her all dressed up for the day. When she stepped back to take a good look at her she had to admit that she did a damn fine job.

Elly was dressed in a blue jean style button up top with red tipped sleeves. She wore a dark blue skirt that complemented her fair skin beautifully and the cutest pair of cheetah vans you ever did see. As far as Marinette was concerned, the sleepless nights were worth it.

The day went smoothly with Elly receiving compliment after compliment on her designer outfit, and she couldn’t feel prouder. Even Mari was walking with a bit more confidence in her own top and skirt combo. If this was the feeling most moms feel when matching with their children then she could totally see herself doing it more often.

Then that confidence got sucked right out of her when the first step to the moment of truth came around.

The end of the day showed up and all three were standing at the corner waiting for Adrien’s car. Both parents were visibly twitchy and could not find a way to stop twitching. Her papa kept twisting his ring back and forth while his partner kept fiddling with her hair which laid free from its red bonds.

And in Elly’s opinion it was silly and strange.

Just then a shiny black Rolls Royce rolled up in front of them. Its silver hood ornament shone brightly in the spring sun and there was shimmer that coated the exterior as if it were fresh right off the dealer’s lot. Adrien grimaced ‘I thought I told him not to take out anything flashy. Ugh I must look so douchey.”

He went to turn to Mari and Elly to apologize for the pageantry but it was pleasantly surprised by the response he saw.

There was his “Wife” giggling up a storm at the silliness over the whole situation but then there was his Eloise’s reaction.

You could not tell this girl anything that would ruin her day. Her mouth was agape as she stared at the sparkling black rims. She couldn’t look at anything long enough for fear that she might miss the next great thing about it.

“Papa are you a king!?” She demanded “Only kings and princes and princesses like in my book are this rich!”

The golden haired boy laughed “I am no king sunshine. That would be your grandfather. I am just a prince” little green eyes stared back at him in confusion, but he continued “However, since you are my little girl that does make you my princess”

Marinette took a pause from laughing when she heard the word “princess” leave his lips. For whatever reason, an alley cat hero passed through her mind for moment. She shook it off and just labeled it as her being sleep deprived.

Suddenly a large looming figure exited the car and stood before them. Marinette’s maternal instincts (that she wasn’t fully aware that she had) kicked into high gear as she tensed to prepare for a grab at Eloise.

“Hello gorilla” Adrien said simply. He knew the huge man must’ve looked terrifying to them but assured his partner that everything was fine. The behemoth raised an eyebrow and pointed a meaty finger at the two females, giving the rich kid a look that asked if he wanted him to get rid of the two.

“No need gorilla, this is my family for a school project. This is Marinette my ‘wife’” He put air quotes around the term wife so that the behemoth doesn’t get the wrong impression “And this is my little girl Eloise. Say hello honey.”

Eloise approached the large man to give her greetings and in response he squatted down and leaned in close for a closer look at her. This did not help her mother’s nerves as her hand twitched in anticipation to snatch Elly right from his monster clutches. The man looked absolutely paralyzing with his massive frame and stoic face it was no surprise that he’d be chosen to protect the heartthrob of parisian high school girls.

But the little girl was hardly afraid of the man. In fact, she was fascinated by him.

To the point where she just booped his nose.

The Gorilla was nowhere near ready for that and just froze in place, mouth dropped to the ground.

But, Elly just laughed “Hi! My name is Eloise! You have a really funny face.”

And as if out of nowhere, Adrien saw something that he wasn’t even aware could happen.

The gorilla had a light pink hue scattered across his face. His heart simply melted at her innocence and how fearless she was toward him.

“Are you gonna take us to see ‘the king’?” She whispered the last part, not sure if it was meant to be a secret that her papa was basically royalty

The burly bodyguard looked at Adrien, unsure of what she meant but he just mouthed that she meant his father.

The gorilla used his massive hand to give the assumed princess a pat on the head and then a dutiful salute signaling that he would not rest until they got to their destination.

He held open the car door and the makeshift family got inside, Eloise basically jumping in to see how fancy the inside was.

One lively car ride later they unloaded themselves from the black chariot and Elly gave a very animated farewell as the man once considered a terror gave a small wave back from his position by the car. He could feel tears coming to his eyes as he could not get over how cute the small sunshine child was.

As Adrien held open the door for the two ladies to enter they were met by his second most dreaded obstacle.

Nathalie, His father’s assistant

She seemed to be preoccupied by her tablet, no doubt filling his schedule with shoots and appearances that he had no interest in, so he and Marinette tried to sneak past to just get to his room.

Eloise had no such intent.

“Hi there! Whatcha lookin’ at?” she said as she struggled to climb into Nathalie’s seat and look at her tablet.

The assistant almost leapt out of her seat, startled by the little voice. When she looked down she couldn’t comprehend why there was a 5 year old in her seat looking back at her.

“Who are you?” She asked cautiously as she tried to calm her now erratic heartbeat.

“My name’s Eloise! Who are you?” She replied cheerily as if she was just reporting on the day’s weather.

Nathalie narrowed her eyes still unsure as to what was happening. “I am Ms. Sancoeur, The assistant of Gabriel Agreste. How did you-”

“I know that last name!” the small blonde child interjected “That’s my Papa’s last name! You must be the king’s adviser!”

“Papa?” the now highly confused woman questioned “King?”

She then looked around and found a very nervous Adrien attempting to sneak around her desk to retrieve the little girl.

“Stop right there!” She demanded, making him jump out of his skin “You will explain right this moment what is going on here and for your sake it better be good”

He sighed, upset that he got caught. He then collected Elly into his arms and went to stand next to an equally nervous Marinette. “Nathalie this is my family for a school project. Marinette and I are partners and we are fostering Eloise here for the year.”

The older woman was skeptical “And this was all done without a notice or a permission slip to a parent”

“I’m 18 now I didn’t need it. Also I attempted to mention it to you and my father to which I got a very passive response." Nathalie was taken aback by his unwavering defense.

Although she tried to deliver a response he had decided that he no longer wanted to hear it “Listen I’m sure my family is eager to relax for a few moments before we get started on my daughter’s bed and things so we will just take our leave.” He then ushered the three of them up the large staircase to his room to escape anymore questioning, at least for a little while anyway.

All that was left was a very confused Sancoeur staring at the staircase where the little trio traveled. She took a moment to think. She considered the model’s brazen behavior toward the situation and came to the conclusion that he must’ve began to grow up finally. She sat down at her desk, resuming her work with a proud smile on her face.

“Wait a minute” She paused “BED!? AS IN SLEEPING HERE!?”

***Upstairs in Adrien’s room***

He was starting to look emotionally drained as they finally got into his room. He collapsed on his bed as Marinette set little Elly down to explore.

“You ok?” She said gently as she took a seat beside him on the mattress. Adrien took a long slow breath as he stared up at his ceiling just trying to get over the event with Nathalie and psych himself up for the inevitable meeting with his father.

“Yea I think so, I just hate that Elly had to see that. I try to interact with him and let him know what’s going on in my life but if it’s not modeling he has no interest in hearing it. I could never forgive myself if she ever felt that way towards me. That’s why I make it my mission to hear everything she has to tell me”

She hummed understandingly to her partner’s problems but then said something that hadn’t crossed his mind. “Well I’d suggest looking at her right now cause I can promise you that’s not at all how she’s feeling”

Adrien sat up in his bed to take a look at what Mari meant and he had to admit, there didn’t appear to be an neglected bone in that little girl’s body. She ran up and down spiral staircase, pressed all the colorful buttons on his arcade games and pressed her face against his window overlooking the street. All the while rambling about how she couldn’t wait to rule a kingdom of her own.

“Eloise has had a hard life.” said the bluenette “We don’t know anything about it but I’m sure we can agree that it wasn’t the life that she deserved. But if I know anything about that little girl from the few weeks we’ve spent together it’s that she absolutely adores you. Every morning she asks where you are and how soon she can see you. You make her so happy and for me at least that’s proof enough that you’re a good dad.”

He just sat there on the bed beside her, amazed and feeling a growing sense of joy fill his heart. Had his little girl really felt that way about him? Was he really doing right by her? Millions of insecurities ran through his head until he heard a little voice call out to him.

“Papa, look! The people outside look soo super tiny from up here and you can see so much more than at mama’s house.”  
Her excitement shook him out of his funk as he walked over and scooped her up onto his shoulders “You can see even more from all the way up here.”

Eloise laughed in utter glee “Hey daddy what if we went up to the second floor and I was up on your shoulders”

He pondered over the idea for a minute “I don’t know. Let’s go up there and find out.”

“Maybe let’s not do that, there is no way that’s safe” said a very concerned Mari from her now standing position by the bed.

“There’s no need to worry Mari” He replied with a very cheshire like grin “It’s not like I’m gonna let her fall”

And just like that they climbed up the steps and Eloise was on Adrien’s shoulders laughing giddily at all the height and leaning over to get a better look.

Now, it wasn’t like the hidden heroine didn’t trust him, she knew he would sooner give up his own life for hers. However, unexpected things had a tendency to happen.

Like his door slamming wide open.

And a very upset Gabriel Agreste storming through yelling out his name.

Yea...things like that could happen.

The startling noise made Eloise jolt back, causing Adrien to lose his footing and tilt backwards. Marinette could do nothing but watch in horror as she foresaw him falling right on top of their little girl. The feline hero’s instincts kicked into overdrive however as he suddenly gripped the little girls shirt, whipping her from around his neck and clutching her tight to his chest as he fell onto his back beside the railing.

Everyone’s heart was racing at a ridiculous speed. Eloise’s for almost being crushed, Adrien’s for almost crushing her, and Marinette for having to watch the whole thing. The concerned papa checked all over Elly’s body to make sure she was alright and luckily, other than a now wrinkled shirt, she was perfectly fine.

“Hello? I am talking to you” commanded a very aggravated Gabriel. His son sighed and climbed down the stair holding his daughter close.

“Yes father, how may I help you?” he replied

“Why did I have to hear from Nathalie that you not only have a female in the house without my permission but a child here as well” The model flinched at his father’s words

“I tried to explain to you that they were coming but you were too busy to acknowledge it”

“Well clearly I am here now so let’s hear what you have to say”

Elly could feel her Papa’s grip on her get tighter as anger began to well up inside of him “This, father, is apart of the school project that I was trying to tell you about. Marinette is my partner and together we are fostering and co-parenting Eloise here for the next year. So in a way, this is your granddaughter.”

Adrien placed Eloise down on the floor and told her to go give a proper greeting. She was scared by the man’s irritated mood and inched only halfway to him.

“Hello there, my name is Eloise” Gabriel narrowed his eyes at her as if analyzing and debating whether or not to acknowledge her existence

He chose the latter

“You ditched your scheduled shoot for this?” The frightened girl ran to her mother and hid behind her red skirt, gripping her legs

“I will not allow you to neglect your duties just because you feel the need to play house.” He put up a single hand, silencing any protests from his son before he even made them.

“It was foolish for you to even consider participating in this frivolous project when I am certain you are aware of your busy schedule. Now then I am off to my study for work and when I return I expect all these boxes and these two ladies to be gone. Am I clear?”

He didn’t even wait to respond as he just turned on his heels and walked right back out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

If Marinette and Eloise weren’t there he’d punch something he was so pissed right now. Anyone could tell from his shaking form that he was containing a lot of pent up feeling. But before he could do anything drastic a small hand grasped his.

Adrien lost every ounce of rage in him when he looked down into Elly’s face. She looked worried about him which hurt his heart more than anything his father could ever say to him. But when her wavering little voice came to his ears it broke into a million pieces

“Papa” she said “Are you ok? It’s ok if you were scared, I was too”

All the feigned strength he had built up left him as he sat against the wall and pull his little girl in close to his heart. Marinette sat next to them and just rubbed his back in comfort.

“To be honest sunshine, I was really scared.” he said against her hair “But having you around made me brave. It’s kind of one of your super powers.”

Elly was delighted by the declaration but paused again “Will that man make us leave? I really wanted to stay with you”

He pulled away and gave her a reassuring smile “Not at all sunshine I have too much planned for you to go back with your mama. However, while you’re here you must be careful not to run into the dragon king ok?”

Mari held back a laugh as her daughter all of a sudden was intrigued by what she heard. Eloise asked what he had meant and her papa dutifully explained.

“That mean old man used to be the noble king. But, after losing his queen his heart grew cold and scaly like a dragon’s and he’s been like that ever since.” The little one was amazed and told him that she thought he was the bravest prince she ever met for living with him.

“I don’t want to break up a sweet moment but what are you gonna do about your father?" whispered a very concerned Marinette into Adrien’s ear as their little girl was dazed in delight "He told you that we had to amscray by the time he got back”

A sly and proud grin slipped across his face “If I remember correctly he asked if I thought his instructions were clear. Well, as far as i’m concerned...they weren’t. Besides, I promised you a break and my little sunbeam a fun weekend. If there’s one thing I always do dear lady that’s keep a promise.”

For the second time today she felt a pang of deja vu hit her but brushed it off insisting to herself that she was just imagining things.  
Feeling satisfied with his plan he rose up from his seat, help Mari up and carried Elly over onto his bed.

“Alright sunshine, me and your mama are gonna start putting together your bed do you think you can entertain yourself until it’s all done?” Blonde hair bounced up and down as she nodded dutifully.

But then 5 minutes passed by, so she decided to draw

Then another 10 minutes, so she read some of the books her grand mére bought her

15 minutes went by and she was playing some of the games on her papa’s computer

By the time 20 minutes came and went, Eloise was bored out of her skull and she needed something else to do

She peered over at her guardians and unknowingly took a long look at her papa as she thought back to earlier

‘That king was really mean to daddy for yelling’ she thought resentfully ‘He made him upset which isn’t nice at all.”

But then her heart waned a little ‘but papa did say that he’s only this way because he was sad that he lost his queen’ Her eyebrows furrowed ‘I can understand why he’d be sad but he still has my papa! And having my papa is the best thing in the world to me”

Her mind was made up. She had to make her grandfather see just how great her papa was and she was determined to succeed no matter what.

So while her parents were busy figuring out which screw goes to what board, Elly packed her lemon lamby backpack with her drawings, crayons, everything else, and snuck out into the tall hallways.

“It’s just like a castle” She said to herself, astonished. She had only read about places like these in the books back at the orphanage so she would’ve never thought she’d actually end up staying in one someday.

As the explorer ambled down the walkways she took pauses to peek into random rooms. She found massive bathrooms, spacious bedrooms, a dining room, and even a fabric room she thought her mama would simply adore. But, still no sign of the dreaded king.

She thought her search was all in vain until she came across a room with tall etched glass doors. From top to bottom the panes were filled with drawings of models in high end fashion. It was so beautiful that it looked like dolls were dancing along it’s delicate frame.

Eloise looked in between the sketches of models to find an immensely focused Gabriel drawing out his 4 sketch of that afternoon.

She cracked open the door and slipped inside, undetected. She debated for a moment how to go about making herself known. She couldn’t come up with anything useful so she did the best thing she could think of:

“O mighty dragon king I wish to speak with you!” She announced loudly in the hollow office

Gabriel whipped his head around toward the source of the noise and found a very resolute 5 year old staring back at him

“You are not allowed to be here child, go back to your mother” He sneered at her, annoyed that he was being pulled out of his work for something so foolish

But the little adventurer came too far to give up and go back now (Plus she was avoiding the scolding she was sure to get when they realize she’s gone)

“I have a name you know. And I’m sure you heard it.” she asserted

“I don’t think I did and I don’t think I really care. Go away child I am busy.” The white haired man turned back around and continued his work.

Elly huffed, this king is so RUDE. She had always been taught to be a good person and be nice to everyone but how can she be nice when he’s being so difficult?

She considered giving up but remembered the one sure fire way to get him to notice her

She placed her backpack by the door, crawled underneath his desk and hoisted herself up onto the seat and into his lap.  
“Hi there!” she exclaimed damn near giving the old man a heart attack

“WHAT DO YOU WANT CHILD!?” he fumed

“Firstly, for you to say my name. It’s very easy. ‘Eloise’ see?” she slowly sounded out each syllable of her name to get the point across “If you want Elly also works for me”

Gabriel was positively speechless. It was clear from the get-go that she didn’t know who he was but to just approach him like she was really his granddaughter took him for a complete 360 loop.

Nonetheless, he conceded and humored her. If for nothing more than to get her out of his well coiffed hair. “Very well Eloise. Why did you come here? Do your parents know that you’re here?”

The green eyed little one flinched and recoiled slightly remembering that her parents probably haven’t figured out that she’s missing yet. “No they don’t know, but that’s not important right now! I’m here on the perilous mission to transform you back into a noble king!”

He raised a confused but intrigued brow

Elly took it upon herself to explain “My papa told me all about you. I know that you were once a kind and noble king always making everyone happy. But, ever since you lost your queen your heart has grown cold and scaly like a dragons.”

‘So that’s how he views me huh?’ Gabriel thought to himself. He knew that his relationship with his son was strained but to him that was simply the price of success and that was far more important.

“I am here to show you that you don’t have to be sad anymore because you still have my papa” She said, proudly smiling up at the white haired gentleman.

“You do realize that you are just an assignment don’t you?” He said coldly “You’re just another project that he has to complete for a grade”

He simply couldn’t understand why this girl was so adamant about his perception towards her “What do you care anyway it’s not as if you’ll be around long enough for any of us to make any kind of lasting impression.”  
‘There, that should make her understand. Now maybe she’ll go away and I can get some work done”

Instead however, Eloise gave him a look that he was not expecting.

She look highly unimpressed. As if his biting words were nothing more than just him listing off the day’s special

She then climbed off his chair, grabbed her backpack and climbed back on. She reached into her bag, pulled out a sketchbook and started to flip through pages.

“This is Nana and Grandpére” she pointed to a drawing of Sabine and Tom “Every morning while mama is busy getting my stuff they slip me an extra croissant before we leave”

She flipped again “This is Auntie Alya and Uncle Nino. They fuss all the time but when they do get along we listen to music and talk about ladybug stuff”

Drawing after drawing she told him about the different people in her life and what they do for her, even the Gorilla who she thinks probably gives the best hugs.

But then she turned to a photo of him. It was crude and his clothes were every color under the sun it seemed like but even he had a smile and crown atop his head.

“I drew you too, see? I don’t know a whole lot about you yet, but there is something I do know. I only draw things that are good, so I know for a fact that you have to be good. It’s just that right now you’re feeling really sad because you don’t have someone telling you that you’re good.

She closed the book and turned to face him with a brilliant smile

“But don’t worry!” She said enthusiastically “You can just tell yourself that you’re good and you’ll be ok! And if you want, I’ll tell you that you’re good too.”

Gabriel was at a shear loss for words. Ever since losing his wife the only people he spoke too were clients and employees that simply told him anything that’ll either secure their job or their business staying afloat. But this girl, she meant what she said.

But far more than her words, what shook him most was how much she looked like Adrien when he was her age. How was that even possible? How could a child, sharing no blood with the man before her, look so much like his own offspring. And yet, there she was, looking more and more like him the longer he stared.

The silver haired man smiled

Eloise smiled back and turned back around to let him work

“Oh and you’re not allowed to call me Eloise anymore” She declared matter of factly

“Very well, Elly it shall be” He retorted

“Nope, not that either”

He sighed “Did your father have anything to do with your difficult behavior?” She giggled at that quip “Fine, what would you like to be called?”

She shrugged her shoulders “You choose, I like getting new names.”

Gabriel looked around his desk and noticed the feathered dress he had been designing for a client, but then looked down to see her golden blonde hair freefalling down her back.

“You will be my little Tweety then. Your hair is gold and squawk like a noisy bird.”

Again she couldn’t control her giggles but accepted it all the same

“Then you shall be my Ye Ye”

He raised an eyebrow “Where did you learn Chinese Tweety?”

“From a book Nana gave me. Plus, I hear it from her sometimes when she talks on the phone.”

He gave her a pat on the head and just decided to instead just enjoy his new granddaughter. She wasn’t going anywhere for awhile it seemed so why fight it.

So they did lots of things together in that short time. They talked about ladybug, drew pictures of things they liked, and he even showed her an old photo album of Adrien when he was her age. In return she showed him some of her mama’s sketches. He made a special note of her style and talent.

In short: Gabriel Agreste was absolutely in love with his granddaughter.

***Meanwhile in Adrien’s room***

“Um Adrien, where is my child?”

Adrien finished pounding in the last screw on Elly’s new bed “What an odd question. She’s lying right on my b-”

But she wasn’t there

She hadn’t been there for a good hour and a half

“Ok...this is bad. Like...really, really bad” he said trying (and failing) to remain calm

Marinette, however, dumped all rationale out the door “OH MY GOD SHE’S MISSING! WE LOST OUR LITTLE GIRL! WHO KNOWS WHERE SHE COULD EVEN BE!?”

“M-maybe she just went to the bathroom”

Pale hand gripped Adrien’s shirt with dear life “YOU HAVE A BATHROOM INSTALLED IN YOUR ROOM WHY WOULD SHE GO OUT THE ROOM FOR THAT? SHE HAS NO CLUE WHERE IT IS!”

Ok clearly Mari is not the calm one during an emergency

But this was no time to be calm

Adrien and Marinette raced around the room calling out Eloise’s name and every other nickname they had for her. When there was no response they bolted out of the room and down every hallway possible, checking every room and praying that they’d located their lost little one

***Back with Elly and Gabe***

Screams could be heard from every corner of the house. Eloise visibly froze as she came to realize that she was finally found out.

“You really gave them no notice as to where you were even going did you?”

She shook her head “I didn’t want them to worry.”

“Well that clearly didn’t work out didn’t”

Elly tucked her knees into her chest. Gabriel sighed in annoyance and gave her a warm pat on her head.

“Let’s go return you to your parents before they rip apart my house shall we?”

***Back again with our heros***

It was useless. They looked everywhere but still no sign of her. Even a HAIR would give them some type of hope, but they received nothing.

They were each about to slip off somewhere secluded to transform and comb the city clean when…

“Please tell me you’re joking”

There was Adrien’s father standing in the doorframe of his room carrying a very guilty looking Eloise in his arms.

The flustered parents rushed to her to see if she was alright

“Calm down” The older Agreste said “She just came to my office and we had a long chat about things. She even convinced me on certain topics.”

They looked at him, utterly loss to whatever it is he was talking about. He turned to Marinette first.

“Ms. Dupain-Cheng I assume?” He stated

She instantly straightened to attention

“Eloise-” he felt a tug on his sleeve and was met with an irate glare “My apologies, Tweety here, informs me that you made these designs.”

He handed her a design she had made for when Elly has her first birthday with them. Honestly it was one of her favorites as it looked like it would have the most challenge. Dipped in fuschia and floral the gown was crafted straight out of a garden fairy tale with its lace embroidered neckline and cap sleeves. It’s chiffon skirt would look like a blooming rose once Elly would spin in it. She’d be a princess, just like how her mother always saw her.

“I must say that these are quite refined for someone your age and judging by my conversation with this little one you seem to have the work ethic of an up and coming competitor.” Her face flared red as he gave a bow of respect “I expect great things out of you Ms. Dupain Cheng”

Marinette was utterly speechless. Absolutely nothing could come from her mouth except just a squeaky and high pitched “yes sir!”

Then it was Adrien’s turn

Gabriel stepped up to his son, his face stoic and unreadable. Adrien was again nervous but brave in front of his daughter.

“I find it highly irresponsible that you allowed this little girl to run rampant in our home.” You could see the model’s eyes drop in disappointment as he awaited yet another scolding “Honestly, my granddaughter could’ve gotten hurt and that would just be tragic”

Ok, he was not at all expecting that

“But after spending just one hour with her I can clearly see why.” Now he was looking right up into his father’s face confused as all hell “I couldn’t seem to get rid of her once she decided to stay. So stubborn this one, it’s a surprise you even keep up with her.”

The older Agreste handed Elly over to her papa and he took her into his arms graciously

The hidden hero finally caught on to his father’s intent and snickered warmly “Trust me you should see her when she’s mad. She’s impossible.” Elly fussed “Hey!” in protest

“Regardless, I’m proud of you son. You seem to have made yourself a lovely little family here. Your mother would’ve loved to see it”

The smile he got back from his son warmed his heart

He leaned down to an increasingly giggly Elly “There you little pest” He stated “was that ‘good’ enough?”

She affirmed his query with a warm pat atop his head

“Very good Ye Ye”

God he can never stay upset with this girl and he somewhat hated it

Even still, he didn’t overstay his welcome as he turned on his heels and proceeded to walk out the door. But, as he walked out the door he took a pause and looked back on the little family scene

And for moment he saw himself and his wife hugging and fussing over a tiny, happy Adrien no more than 5 years old.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here are the links for the dress that Mari designed
> 
> http://www.rentatcouture.com/collections/rent/products/-crimson-set
> 
> Anyway I'm super extra hella hyped about this chapter cause it's one i've been planning since I thought of this story so please leave as many comments as possible just to see if it was really worth (Which I think it is but hey its the internet what do I know)


	9. Dangers of Being Daddy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like the chapters i'm not as confident about take longer and longer to put out but once I have a solid concept that takes no time at all. Must be that "Writer's block" people are always bitching about...naaaaaaah (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ

‘Ok Agreste, today is your big day’ He thought to himself when he woke up bright and early. Adrien rolled himself out of bed, tiptoed past his little sleeping angel and got himself ready for the fun day he had planned for himself and Elly.

And boy oh boy was he pumped. The playground, the park, the arcade, anything his little princess wanted today she would get two fold.

Turns out however...Eloise apparently just wanted sleep.

No matter how much he softly called out her name, nudged her, absolutely nothing worked in getting the sleeping beauty awake. His panic alarm started to go off a little in his head as he tried to understand and make sense as to why Elly just would not get up. Was she sick, was she just ignoring him *Gasp* did she no longer like him!?

He paced around his room panicked as to what to do

...There was no other choice

He didn’t want to do it but what this was an emergency

Adrien whipped out his phone and made a drastic call to the only one who knew what to do

* * *

 

_ *bzzt* _

A very comfortable body groaned as she rolled over, trying desperately to ignore the constant vibrations of her phone.

_ *bzzt* _

‘Lord, If you’re out there, please make the bad sound go away. For me? Please?’

The buzzing suddenly ceased

‘Well what do ya know? Guess I’m going to church today.’

_ *bzzt* _

‘Or becoming Atheist. That also works.”

Marinette slapped around her bed for the offending object. Whoever was on the other line better be dead, dying, or offering her a spot on the next  Maison Kitsuné line. She finally found her phone and shoved it under her head to lay her ear on it.

“Hello?” She muttered groggily to her perpetrator

What she was not anticipating, however, was a nervous, blonde, male voice on the other end.

“Hey Mari. Were you by any chance...sleeping?” Responded a very awkward Adrien knowing full well what the answer was.

“Well I’m not now as you can hear” She replied yawning and stretching out her limbs

“Sorry to wake you. Trust me, I know I promised that this would be your relaxation day and that I wouldn’t bother you but I have a slight dilemma over here with Eloise.”

This was high cause for alarm in Marinette’s mind

“What’s wrong with my baby?” She said a little more demandingly than she had meant to

“See that’s the thing!” He responded with just as much worry “I don’t know! No matter what I do she’s not moving”

“What do you mean not moving? Is she breathing?” Now she was out of bed and rushing to throw on any clothes she can find, just so that she can go save her daughter and get her to a hospital.

“Well of course she’s breathing”

...what?

“It’s just that no matter how gently I try to wake her up she just will not get up. She’s still just sleeping, the little lazy lima bean. I don’t know what to do”

Marinette dropped her first aid bag

‘If I was not in love with this man I’d punch him square in his beautiful jaw’ She collapsed back onto her bed and sighed deeply.

“Adrien...What is today?”

There was a pause of confusion “Uh saturday?”

“Yes, that is correct. That makes it the weekend and I can tell you with utmost certainty that no one in the Dupain-cheng household get’s up for ANYTHING before 10:30 at the earliest on the weekends. Now tell me, what time is it?”

Again more hesitation but this one was clearly out of shame “Uh 8:30?”

The drowsy 18 year old hummed in approval “Very good. So now that you know all that information I will leave you with this. Elly’s body is on a schedule, including on the weekends and while I appreciate your initiative that girl is not getting up until 10:30. When that time comes and you really want her to get up just bait her with a strawberry croissant and she’ll be up in a snap ok?”

Adrien gave a very meek ok and apology. She wished him a good day and hung up the phone.

Marinette got back in her pajamas and rolled back up into bed to drift back off to sleep for at least for the next 2 hours

But before slipping off into dreamland she giggled to herself

“He’ll make a great dad. Give his wife a heart attack, but be a great dad

* * *

 

2 hours and a pastry later Elly was yawning lazily, munching on her croissant as her papa set out the outfit for today. After swallowing the last piece she hopped off her bed and meandered her way over to the proud father who had just laid out the last piece. With a pink extended short-sleeved shirt saying “Daddy’s spoiled princess” in gold glitter and floral leggings Adrien simply had to give himself a pat on the back. The sparkle flats that he included were an especially fine touch. He may be a model but he could put together an outfit if he needed to. 

Feeling smug and confident in his abilities He lifted Eloise up under arm and paraded his way into his bathroom for her morning bath, a beaming smile plastered on his face.

That smile however, was gone the moment he realized something crucial.

His tub was massive even for him. Which means it’s the size of a mini swimming pool to her.

And Elly took very much delight in that fact.

Adrien struggled desperately to keep her still as she kept breaking out of his hold to go for a swim. Water splashed everywhere while he cleaned her body and massive mane of hair. By the time it was all said and done she was all clean while he was in massive need of a change in clothes

It was noon 11:30 by the time they were both fully dressed the model papa was starting to gain some pride back in his work. Eloise looked mighty precious as she twirled in her glittering shoes, admiring how they shimmered.

And while he didn’t want to be THAT dad…

He had to take a few selfies and send them to his partner.

* * *

Marinette was just finishing brushing her teeth when her phone went off, signaling a new message.

She gargled, spit out her mouthwash and opened the texts

And whoo boy was she so glad that she didn’t have anything in her mouth too cause these photos were spit-take inducing

Message after message Adrien sent her pictures of their little girl and him admiring her precious look. Elly posed this way and that, showing off every inch of her outfit while trying hard to imitate her cool daddy on the many billboards she’s seen.

He even sent selfies of the two of them trying to be (As he so gracefully texted) #SWAGTASTIC together

There was no other way she could phrase it

Her daughter and “husband” were utter dorks

Her dorks most definitely, but without a doubt dorks.

So she responded the most mature way possible

with a goofy selfie of her own using two tooth brushes like walrus tusks

* * *

Once Adrien and Elly ate breakfast and were prepared for their day out there was a knock on his bedroom door.

The big blonde got up from his seat on the couch to answer but Eloise jumped in front of his path

He looked at her with a confused expression and she explained that she wanted to get the door (you know like an adult)

It took everything in him not to laugh at her “Sunshine, don’t you think you’re a little too teeny for the door?”

She shook her head firmly and commanded that he watch her

She approached the door, ready to prove herself worthy of such a momentous task

She reached out her hand toward the knob

...and then reached a little further

…….Little more

Aaaaaaand nothing. The poor thing really was way too short to reach the handle.

‘She so fucking cute; I love her so fucking much’ Adrien wanted nothing more than to watch her tiny little frame struggle to reach with her dainty hands.

But he couldn’t enjoy it for too long as she came up to him with frustrated tears in her eyes.

He kneeled down to her level and stroked her long hair “What’s wrong my little sunbeam?”

She sniffed “I can’t do it”

‘Even her crying is cute I can’t take it’ He gave her a hug “It’s ok honey let’s open it together ok?”

She gave a light nod and with her gripping onto her papa’s shirt they opened up the door to a very cheerful but confused nino with a very flustered Sammy in tow.

“Christ man what took so long?” Nino question

“Elly had a slight issue with the door” Adrien explained letting them pass through into his massive space

Nino ruffled the green eyed girls hair “Aww don’t worry ya little trouble-maker, you’ll get there eventually”

Adrien peered down at Sammy looking quite frustrated but with a light pink tint on cheeks “What’s up with him?” He questioned

“Oh I have no idea. I told him that we were hanging out today and he was all for it but when I told him that it was with you and Elly on the way over he INSISTED that he wanted to go back home. Honestly, your guess is as good as mine.”

Eloise was very concerned hearing this. Why on earth would Sammy not wanna play with her? Was he mad with her? Did she not share her toys with him? What could it possibly be?

There was a tug on her papa’s sleeve as Elly requested to be let on to the floor. As soon as she was she got in close to Sammy. His copper skin flared red as he could feel her nose touch his.

“W-what do you want L-lemonhead?” He nervously demanded. Jade eyes studied his featured closely and he was getting twitchier by the second. The silence stretched for what felt like forever as neither said a single word.

“Sammy” She announced. The boy flinched to attention “Yeah?”. She took a pause “Why don’t you want to play with me? I thought we had always been friends?”

Sammy had to take a moment to process the randomness of the question. When he realized finally what she asked his chest puffed up in fake bravado “Isn’t it obvious? Men don’t play with little girls we play with other men. It’s just not natural.”

“Well that’s stupid”

That puffed up chest instantly deflated

“No it’s not!” He argued “It makes perfect sense. I’m supposed to play with men, not girls”

“But you play with Sophie”

“Well she’s my sister I have no choice”

“You play with the teacher”

“That’s cause she’s a lady, not a girl”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“Uh, no. There’s a huge difference.”

“And that is?”

“Unlike you she doesn’t kick around soccer balls and stomp in dirt.”

“But boys do”

“...yea”

“So I’m like a boy?”

“N-no! You’re a girl and I won’t play with you!”

This conversation had gone on long enough for Elly’s liking so she just grabbed Sammy’s hand. For the umpteeth time his cheeks grew red as she dragged him over by the window so that they could do what they always do, play with their toys while he complains about everything. Eloise didn’t mind though; Sammy just had a funny way of showing how much he really likes to play with her. So for now, this was fine.

Adrien however, was not at all pleased by the development. As he and Nino sat on the couch it was clear that he was silently fuming.

“Soooo” Nino prodded suggestively “It’s clear that my sammy might have a thing for your Elly….What is the possibility for a potential merger? You know the Agrestes and Lahiffe’s?”

Adrien turned to him with a bright (but obviously fake smile) “I’m fine with whoever Elly finds love in”

Nino was cautious but ultimately convinced that his son might have gotten them rich!

“Provided he can survive 5 consecutive photoshoot without a single pose needing to be redone, Withstand 2 hours of fangirling meet and greets and display to me the head of a bear that he slayed with a toothpick and his wits”

Ok maybe not so rich

The enraged father simply had to show his “Wife” this nonsense. No little girl of theirs would ever fall in love so quickly. It’s unheard of!

* * *

If Marinette knew how relaxing it would be to have a child-free weekend, she would’ve had Adrien take Elly every other weekend.

Of course she loved her little angel but Mama likes not watching sailor moon every once in awhile.

She was currently with Alya and Sophie, sipping on a Latte and eating a danish when her phone buzzed with the latest update from her partner.

“Text from the Hubby?” Alya questioned while Sophie doodled in a coloring book.

“Yup and he’s not too pleased it seems”

Mari handed her best friend the phone so that she could see for herself and Adrien did not disappoint.

The picture was of Sammy and Elly playing 3DS together by the window, propped up side by side while looking deep in concentration.

What followed was nothing short of magical

A page long RANT detailing just how much he would not stand for ‘this two-bit punk taking away his precious ray of sunshiny sweetness for his selfish boy needs’

“Soooo...Adrien seems a tad overprotective of my summer child”

The bluenette slipped out a small snort of laughter as she took her phone back “A little is putting it in kind words I’d say”

“Well I’m glad you’re not like that, god forbid you ever decide to have a son.”

“Oh I’d never be that bad. All that stuff is so excessive”

There was an airy laugh that filled the space between them. It was sunny and quite nice

“I mean all I’d ask is that he make an 8 tier raspberry filling wedding style cake with orchid sugar flowers, real flowers as the topper and a water brush design outlining his undying vows to my daughter.”

...Until it wasn’t

She sipped casually on her drink while flipping through her phone. Sophie and Alya could do nothing more than watch in abject horror.

‘With parents like these I hope Elly never gets married!’ They thought

Truly Eloise had a lot of trials ahead of her

* * *

Despite his distaste for the idea of his little sunshine hanging out with what could turn out to be a potential suitor Adrien was still proper father and good friend as the 4 of them chose to go out to the park instead of spend all their time indoors and miss out on the warm weather.

When they got to the park it was obvious that spring was in full affect. Flowers were blooming all over the place and it felt like every kid in the city was out and about. At first Adrien was worried about how Elly would feel about seeing that many kids around but instead she couldn’t wait to play with so many new friends.

Once both Papa’s let their little ones go they were left in the dust, alone with each other and their thoughts.

They found a nearby bench and just decided to shoot the breeze.

“So how’s the whole parenting thing going for you” Nino asked handing his friend a bottle of juice

“Not bad I’d say. Elly met my dad yesterday”

Nino winced “ooooo that must not have gone well. The little fireball must’ve been terrified”

“That’s the crazy thing. She was at first but honestly I was more upset than she was”

“Duh, the old crypt keeper meeting a child of yours that he himself ‘did not authorize’? That’s pretty rough man”

“Yea but somehow she totally turned him around. Now he’s just as smitten with her as I am.” He took a long chug of his juice “I just hope she’ll one day find a family that’ll care for her the way Mari and I do.”

Suddenly a swift but well meaning slap came to the back of his head

“What the hell man!” He exclaimed

“Sorry dude, I just figured I needed to jog some of that stupid out of you.”

Adrien rubbed the back of his head gingerly (I mean it did hurt like fuck) but relaxed nonetheless

“Why are you talking about stupid stuff like another family looking after her? The program’s not even half over and you’re already thinking about how you’re gonna give her away? Talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth.”

True, they were only in week four of the program but Adrien couldn’t afford to invest his heart too heavily into Elly. It would only tear up his heart worse than him losing his mom.

“Look, I’m not saying it won’t happen. I’d never lie to you like that. But what I am saying is enjoy her while you have her there otherwise there was no point in doing the program in the first place.”

He looked at Nino in surprise admiration, who knew the goof could be so deep.

“Plus, if you’re not careful some boy like those over there will whisk her away before you even know it.”

He turned his head to witness a true nightmare. At least 4-5 boys had gathered around his little girl, all requesting that she play with them. And where was her supposed “Potential suitor”? Just standing on the side gawking, without the slightest clue what to do.

He wasted no time in marching over, collecting her up into his arms (to her surprise, yet still delight because yay daddy), and spending the rest of their time at the park playing exclusively together while he maliciously glared daggers at any boy that dared attempt to approach her (especially Sammy).

“Yup, enjoy her while you can buddy” Nino said to himself as he comforted a dejected Sammy over on the bench “Cause you won’t have her long”

And that’s how the rest of their outing adventure went. Adrien had renewed vigor to enjoy his little girl no matter what the future called for. They went down to the river seine, got ice cream and even played pranks on gabriel (wasn’t the best plan but boy was it fun) all the while sending Marinette picture after picture showing off their fun.

And she had to admit, It was a blast seeing them. She was glad that he was managing to even keep up with their little ball of energy. However, she did have to admit to her own mild jealousy over their fun too. Mari so wanted to just run out and join in on all the antics but she knew it was best to let her “husband” have as much time with Elly as he wanted; it was only fair. 

And so she went on ahead with her own fun by sending selfies of her out jogging, baking with her own mama and papa, and enjoying a luxurious bath before bed (Adrien couldn’t bring himself to show Elly that pic. It wasn’t bad in the least but of course he had his ‘wife’s’ modesty to protect). Overall both parents agreed that this would not be even close to the last time they switched on duties.

The last pic sent that day was of Adrien and Eloise sharing the same bed for no other reason than she refused to sleep alone. Elly was curled up beside him, her head nestled on his chest. 

The caption read “I hope she stays this cute forever”

***Technical end of chapter but do keep reading***

* * *

 

Marinette responded with a selfie of her curled up in her bed, a button up PJ set draped over her petite figure.

Except she may have forgotten to fasten a few buttons out of laziness.

Adrien’s face flushed bright red as he quickly checked to make sure Eloise was fast asleep. He then silently slipped out of bed and up the staircase so that she couldn’t see.

*From Adreamy* ‘um, was the buttons thing on purpose? N-not trying to start anything just wondering’

Now, If she was in her right mind she’d apologize profusely and die of shame and embarrassment.

...good thing she wasn’t though

*From Mama Mari* Idk yet. I’ll let you know if I get a selfie of your reaction 

Adrien.exe was having a real hard time responded

‘Do I respond? Do I leave it alone? Do I just tell her good night?...DO I RESPOND!?’

He decided to respond

Marinette was quite pleased by the selfie she received of Adrien’s adorably blushed face. He was even looking away  _ How cute _

*From Adreamy* There. Satisfied

She scoffed

*From Mama Mari* For now. Though i’d be much more satisfied if you were with me

Adrien’s mouth was growing just a tad dry from that text ‘Alright so now she’s toying with me. Well I’m not Chat Noir for nothing, two can play at this game’

*From Adreamy* I can’t imagine what we’d do together. We would have a little green eye’d warden with us.

*From Mama Mari* That’s the beautiful thing about grandparents. We could have aaaalll the time in the world, and in some cases...a whole house to ourselves too.

Alright, he may be chat noir but not even if he donned the suit himself could he beat that. The air in the room suddenly felt quite stuffy.

The final text of the night then came through

*From Mama Mari* Goodnight Daddy. Have fun dreaming of those possibilities

Fuck now he needed a cold shower...and a long walk

and she never answered his question either

Marinette switched off her bedside lamp and rolled over. She would later drown in the embarrassment the next morning. But for now, she was feeling on top of the world

“He’ll be a great dad” She whispered to herself drifting off to sleep “A cuter husband too”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soooo how bout that "higher than PG" total ending huh? No seriously, how was it? I literally have no fucking clue so let me know what you think in the comments. And while you're down there just hanging out or whateva please let me know any chapter ideas you may have. I wanna write one more light chapter before we start going down a not so well-lit path (it's got get dark ladies and gentlemen, bring a flashlight) so let me know in that pretty white box down below. So peace, Lacy has left the liiiiiiiine (fuck idk) (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ ✧ﾟ･: *ヽ(◕ヮ◕ヽ)
> 
> (Also I'm just saying that i'm really motivated to write a shojou, High-school-esque fic about how Sammy and Elly get together with like them being childhood friends and her starting to see him as a real man and then him not being honest with his feelings and just UGH I JUST LOVE THESE BABIES SO FUCKING MUCH)


	10. Peek a boo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yaaaaaaaay season finale!!!!! ugh it took me forever to come up with a good enough chapter I ran through like 3 different chapter ideas before settling on this one so needless to say I'm pretty wiped

“Mama! Papa! I learned a new game today!” Eloise exclaimed as her parents picked her up from school one day.

Adrien lifted his little sunshine into his arms, “Ooo a new game. What’s it called?”

“It’s called Hide and Seek and I was the best player in the whole class.”

“How do you play?” Marinette inquired while they loaded themselves into adrien’s car

Elly pondered for a moment “Well, first everyone decides who gets to be the finder. Then, once they pick that person has to close their eyes and count to 10 really really loudly. When they open them back up everyone is gone and it’s the finder’s job to find them all. Pick out all ten and you win!”

Marinette gave a small applaud “Wow! That sounds super fun!”

Eloise could not be happier to receive the praise. “So then, Can you and daddy play it with me today?”

Her mama gave out a pensive hmm as she thought about it “I think your papa is busy today lovebug we're just going over to pick up some left over stuff from your weekend together. But, maybe this weekend-”

“Nonsense” Adrien announced to his partner's surprise “I’d be happy to play with my sunbeam!”

Marinette leaned in close and whispered in his ear “But don’t you have a ton of shoots today. I don’t think your father will be too pleased with you ditching.”

“Don’t worry about it.” he whispered back “We had one of those ‘Man to Man’ talks and I requested less shoots so that I could be a proper dad. He just kinda rolled over but said that the shoots I will have will just be longer. So it works out”

The bluebell was pleasantly shocked by her partner’s dedication. To slow down his modeling career just to be there for Elly. It was admirable really.

_‘But the way I see it working a full time job then leaping out here every night to save paris I wouldn’t have time to be a real dad for them and that to me is more important’_

‘Huh? I wonder why i’d be thinking of that right now’ Marinette thought to herself. It wasn’t like her to make this many connections between Chat and Adrien but for whatever reason she had a hard time separating the two. Even still, she disregarded the thought as they rolled up to his massive estate.

As they got out of the car and Elly said her farewells to gorilla (He shared a piece of candy with her for behaving so well in school that day) Adrien began to grow excited. He loved doing dorky dad things with his family. Eloise was his pride and joy and quite frankly one of the main reasons he got up in the morning. The other? Well he’s a little more hesitant to share that.

He took a glance over at Marinette as she giggled with their daughter over something funny. His mind wandered back to their text conversation a few nights back. He had no clue she could be that brazen (obviously he’s not complaining) but he still couldn’t shake that heady feeling he got when he first read it. If he were to be completely truthful and honest (within the confines of his own mind where no one could hear him) he’d adore to see it again. Except this time have something clever to say back. If he had any clue she could not only be a phenomenal mom but also a mystery box of flirt like that he would’ve noticed her far sooner.

Regardless both parents had more pressing issues to deal with as Elly practically dragged them down to her Papa’s room. The very minute they arrived she declared that she wanted to be it. They conceded and with no hesitation she covered her eyes and loudly began to count to to 20

Neither could even hope to hold in their laughter as they snuck in pictures of their baby. She was so precious when she diligently made sure her eye’s were covered how could they ever resist.

Well her already getting down to seven certainly helped. Suddenly the two were rushed to find a hiding place. Their eyes whipped left and right trying to find anything that looked like at least a decent hiding place.

Suddenly Marinette felt herself being pulled by her waist as Adrien grabbed her and shoved both of them into a nearby closet.

‘So this is a new development for me’ She thought to her somewhat panickedly. She was now stuck back to chest in a closet with the man that she has had more than a few non-child friendly thoughts about. His arms were wrapped tightly around her stomach and she squirmed slightly as she felt his breath against her skin (The wiggling was not helpful to him either so they were both pretty fucked)

“Sooo you are aware that you have a massive walk in closet don’t you? I mean i’m just wondering cause you might not.” He didn’t respond so she didn’t press it too much (why shoot yourself in the foot right). In actuality, he couldn’t respond for he had no answer. At first he really did need to find a hiding spot but then he...sorta just got greedy and comfortable. She was just so petite and soft. Her curvy but small frame fit so nicely against him that once he latched on he couldn’t find too many reasons to let go. He had hoped that she wouldn’t notice but clearly that wasn’t happening.

Suddenly Adrien could hear Elly get down to one and announce that she was on the hunt (having super hearing was quite useful when hiding). He let out a small ‘shh’ to silence his hiding buddy and she immediately complied. They could hear her little feet pattering back and forth as she basically scoured the whole room.

Elly herself was having a hell of a time. She tried the bathroom, the library, the next room over but to no avail. She knew they couldn’t have gotten too far so where in Ladybug’s name could they be.

She sat in the middle of the room and hummed to herself, deep in thought. What would be the best way to locate her Mama and Papa. If she knew anything about her Mama, finding her would be impossible. That lady was a ninja if she wanted to be, always popping up outta nowhere when Eloise was doing something she wasn’t supposed to. But her papa?

A devious smile etched it’s way onto her face

‘Papa should be a cinch to find if I play it right.’ Elly hoisted herself onto her feet, stretched left and right, took a deep plan and set her plan into action.

“Papa, I know you’re in this room.” Adrien made no movements but simply shifted so that he could hear better.

“So I figured that I’d tell you a joke I heard in school today.” still, all she received was silence.

“What” she started, pacing slowly around the room “do you call a cat that was caught by the police”

The male blonde was curious. He had no clue where she was going with this.

Marinette on the other hand groaned inwardly. ‘Of course she’d figure out that his weakness was puns...cat puns at that’

Elly had begun taking an interest in puns recently, thinking that they were funny and clever. Adrien could not have been any prouder and made it his mission to tell her cat related ones every. Fucking. Day

So obviously sooner or later she’d use that oh so niche bonding to her advantage

‘So she’s an actress and a mini evil genius. She’s learning too much.’

“Paaaapa” Elly cooed oh so sweetly “Do you know what they’re called”

Mari and Adrien’s hearts were racing as she could hear her stop right in front of the closet door.

Then she delivered the punchline

“They’re called purrpatrators!”

*snort*

Marinette whipped around in his hold and clamped her hand over his mouth

“You will not do this right now” She hissed quietly at him “And not at that pun.”

She could feel his body shake from laughter and tears of laughter stung at his eyes

“Adrien, you know that pun. you TOLD her that pun”

Even though his mouth was tightly covered, she could still make out the muffled sound of him saying “But it’s soo funny, you gotta laugh at it.”

“No, I don’t and neither will you. You’re really gonna blow our entire hiding place over one cat pun that you already know?”

He was gonna consider holding back but then he heard it again

“Come oooon Papa. Purrpatrators” He could actually hear her try terribly to roll her R’s on the joke.

He caved in. He gave Mari an apologetic look and fell over in laughter, taking her down with him. The bluenette sighed but giggled along side him.

“You’re such a dork. You know that right?”

Adrien’s laughter began to settle “Yea I know. But for this project, I’m entirely your dork.”

Marinette’s face flared up slightly as the declaration ran through her mind but she just let it pass when she finally heard Elly pull back the clothes on the rack.

“AHA! I knew I could find you!” She took a pause and surveyed the situation. Papa was holding on tight to mama and they were laying on the floor in a weird position, which can only mean…

“You were doing gross grownup things weren’t you?”

The red in Mari’s face spiked up yet again as she quickly removed herself from Adrien’s arms (such a shame too he so enjoyed the warmth)

“W-where did you learn that!?”

“I overheard Uncle Nino talking about it with some friend of his when we went to go visit. Sophie explained it to me.”

The mama’s face ran white “And what did she say?”

“That it’s when grownups hold onto each other in a weird way on the floor”

‘Oh thank god Sophie has no idea. But as a side note: have Alya kick Nino’s ass later.’

Adrien took hold of the situation (not wanting to have to think about ever having ‘the talk’ with their five year old) and took Eloise into his arms, holding her high above his head “Alright, ya little comedian you win. That means you get to choose do you wanna find again or hide this time?”

Elly had never been looked for before and she loved to try new things. Adrien hopped her up and down so that she didn’t put too much thought into it (It was a simple question) and she giggled at the feeling. So, she took the chance.

“I wanna hide this time. But, both you AND mama gotta try and find me, deal?”

“Fine but you gotta promise not to go far ok? Only this side of the house and only this floor ok?” Elly nodded in understanding.

Once in agreement they left the room to commence the counting. Both parents sat on the couch facing the window and closed their eyes. Elly giggled quietly as she took her own photos of them using her phone. She then bounced her way out of Adrien’s room and into a nearby guest room

The space was huge with a modern, chic king sized bed and a tub “The size of Lac du Bourget” as Elly put it. She wandered around the room admiring all the fancy furniture when she heard her guardians announce that they were off looking for her. She settled for a computer desk cabinet and stowed her tiny frame inside, leaving it cracked for air.

‘Hehe they’ll never find me in here. I’m the only one that can fit so they’d never think to look in here’ She was so proud as she listened for footsteps.

A good minute passed by before she began to notice just how small her hiding spot really was.

_Just shut up and stay in here like a good little girl. Mommy will come back for you when she’s finished partying._

Eloise blinked. Where had that thought come from? She could’ve sworn she locked away those bad things.

two more minutes passed. She tucked her knees up to her chest. “Mama and Papa sure are taking a long time” she mumbled

_I thought I told you to stay in the closet. Fuck, now he’s ran off cause he thinks i’m some backwoods babymama. You’re like a fucking plague, just go die somewhere_

That cabinet was starting to feel so much smaller now. So much dirtier too, just like that place. Eloise’s breathing was beginning to grow erratic as she prayed that she’d be found soon.

...but what if they didn’t come? What if they forgot about her or just didn’t have any intention to look for her in the first place?

_Who the fuck do you think you are trying to run, huh? I don’t give a shit if everyone sees me dragging you along the street by that fucking blonde hair of yours. You will never escape me. And do you know why? Because no one wants you but me. I will always be the ONLY one who will ever love you. You’re always gonna be mommy’s little girl, all the way until the day I allow you to die._

Tears were down streaming full force down Eloise’s face. They weren’t coming for her, they never were.

She gripped her head and rocked back and forth to silence the voices. She disobeyed them somehow, she had been a bad girl and now she was paying for it. She was all alone and no one could save her. She would die here.

The cabinet door creaked open. She had no choice but to accept her punishment for running.

“There you are my Lovebu-. Elly, what’s wrong?” Said Marinette, frightened by her daughter’s tear stained face.

Eloise opened her eyes. She thought she’d see her Mother’s face, crazed and furious. But what she found instead was her Mama and Papa staring back at her, concern filling their eyes.

“Sunshine what happened” Adrien said cautiously.

Elly threw herself into Marinette’s chest. She gripped onto her shirt like it was the last thing she’d ever feel. The sound of sobbing echoed in the room.

“Baby, what happened? Why are you crying?” Her mama rubbed her back soothingly with Adrien right beside them confused as to how to respond.

“I was so scared in there” She croaked out “I thought you wouldn’t wanna find me anymore because I was being bad. I’m sorry mama please don’t throw me out.”

This was an utter shock to them. Obviously they knew she had gone through a lot before they were all together but enough to have trauma flashbacks? She had always been their bright happy girl, always smiling without a care in the world so for her to break down like this they were at a complete loss.

“Sunbeam, why would we ever throw you out?” Adrien asked thoughtfully “You’re our precious girl remember? We love you very much”

“B-but I was bad, I should’ve stayed in your room. If I did you would’ve found me easier.”

“Silly bug” Marinette said quietly “We didn’t tell you that you couldn’t leave the room that’s part of the game. You’ve been a very good girl we’d never leave you.”

Elly’s sobbing calmed into a sniffle “You mean it?”

“Of course Elly, Who else would tell your papa bad cat puns” Elly giggles were interjected by hiccups

“Yea and who else could be your personal model for all your designs” Adrien retorted.

Elly got a real good laugh out of that and they were relieved. This was the girl they knew best, laughter emanating from the bottom of her belly. They breathed a sigh of relief, happy to have her back to normal.

They thought they’d just pick something else to do for the evening. A walk in the park or even just some movie time. But hide and seek must’ve taken more out of Elly than they thought it would.

The pair chuckled as she fell limp in her marinette’s arms

“Well I guess we should take her home huh?” asked adrien as a blush began to spread over his face.

“Nah I’m actually pretty exhausted myself. I think we’ll just rest here for a while before heading back” She replied leaning on his shoulder and stroking Elly’s long blonde hair.

At first he stiffened at the sudden contact but just looking down at his two sleeping ladies exhausted from the day made him loosen up a lot. There was a lot to talk about eventually. What was Eloise really saying sorry about? Why would she ever think that they would ‘throw her out’? What was her life before the orphanage?

For now though, that was a conversation for another day. Adrien gently laid Marinette on the other side of the couch, got his massive blanket from his bed, laid it out on the floor and carried both of his precious ladies on the floor with him in one big cuddle pile.

“Yea, another day. Right now though, it’s naptime” two seconds later light snores made its way throughout the room.

* * *

 

“Baby come on, you know you’re gonna miss me.” Noémie was tossed roughly onto her grimy apartment floor.

“Get the fuck away from me you crazy skank! We’re fucking over, don’t even know why I even got with you”

“So what if I took a little money from you. I needed it.”

The man was so ready to punch her in the face “I didn’t fucking know about that Noémie. I meant seeing you on the arm of every schmuck in France”

She pulled herself onto her feet, laughing “That’s your fault asshat I told you I like to make friends.”

He flipped her off while opening up the door “Whatever. Look, don’t call me; don’t text me; don’t even look in my fucking direction. I’m outta here.”

Noémie made a grab for his shirt “You can’t leave what about my money? I did what you asked.”

The man shoved her again and she landed next to the end table “You got your damn money when you fucking robbed me. Now don’t come near me again or else I’m burning your place to the ground.”

He slammed the door behind him, just barely missing the lamp being lobbed at his head. “Fucking Piss-ant. It’s not my fault I’m like this.”

Noémie got up and brushed herself off, picking off the specks of broken glass from her last escapade off her bare legs (Panties and a T-shirt were not the best option for such a dirty place but who gives a shit at this point right?). Plopping down on her yellowing couch she lit a cigarette and took a long slow hard drag of her cigarette, her feet tucked under her.

She eyes passed over the degenerative state of her apartment. Creaky floors, grimy walls, leaking ceiling ‘Fuck i’m living in a shit hole’. Her eyes then settled on a little pink rabbit lying ragged in the corner. She went over, picked it up and stared hard into its black button eyes.

“This shouldn’t be my life” She said to the rabbit “I should be living it up. Banging any dude I want and living in a fucking palace.”

When the toy didn’t respond she kicked over the coffee table “If that little bitch didn’t run away I’d at least have someone to take it out on other than a fucking stuffed doll!”

She flung the rabbit at a nearby wall and returned to the couch. “I gotta fucking find her,” She seethed “Even if I gotta drag her back screaming and kicking that little punk is gonna come back here and suffer like she should.”

Noémie finished her cigarette and put it out on the armrest “Wherever you are El, don’t get too comfortable. Mommy’s coming for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOOOOOOO the foreshadowing is real up in this bitch! This was so super fun to write because you finally get a peek at Elly's past life and let me just say it is not a fun thought my heart bleeds for this poor baby. Also, this is the point of no return it goes full plot after this so coo coo ca choo LET'S DO WHAT IT DO!! super excited to hear all your theories as to where you guys think this'll go and just excited to see what you guys think of Noémie (here's a hint: You're not gonna like her). Grab a comfort blanket ladies and gentlemen it's time to turn out the night light


	11. Intimidation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the start of season 2!!!! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ The season where a lot of shit will go down while I try desperately to get through Biological Anthropology without a concussion! So yea this chapter is gonna get a little real with like very low key abuse (nothing intense I swear) so again, don't wanna tip anyone off, don't wanna start any harm, just giving a fair warning. But aside from that please enjoy the fear circus that is my mind!!!

Eloise was acting strange lately. Not “after effects of trauma” strange, quite the opposite actually. She was helping her grandparents more, behaving better in class, coming up with her own terrible puns (much to Adrien’s delight and Marinette’s dread). She was even waking up on time with the heroine to get the day started.

...what the fuck was going on?

The partnering parents agreed to have a sit down with her just to get it all figured out. They weren’t against this shift in mentality but after her breakdown last week they didn’t want her to have an all of a sudden change just because of what she thinks could happen otherwise.

They loved their sunshine, secret cookie stash and all.

So one afternoon, while walking hand in hand back to the bakery they broke out the question.

“Sooo Sunshine” Adrien started “Your mama and I have a question for you.” She gave a cheerful “ok”

Feeling as though she were walking into a minefield of suppressed trauma, Marinette continued, “We’ve noticed that you’ve been acting differently lately, I-in a good way of course. We’re actually really happy about it.”

“That’s right” He interjected “your puns are getting better and so is your performance in class. We couldn’t be prouder. But...”

He choked a little. There was no way they could cleanly get through this. Maybe they should just accept it and-

“Are you doing this because for any special reason?” Marinette suddenly blurted

An ant could cough right now and all three would hear it. Even as cars and people sped by they could not hear a peep of it. The duo just looked on in pensive horror at Elly. She was far too quiet and that made their stomachs twist and knot up.

She stopped walking and stared down at the sidewalk under her feet, her hands gripping tightly to her book bag straps. “I guess mama and papa figured me out huh?” Her voice sounded nervous and uncertain.

And of course it was Adrien’s heart that broke into a million pieces first.

He whisked his baby girl right off her feet and into a warm, tight hug (so tight that she almost found it hard to breathe). He went on and on about how he would give her the world if she wanted it, how he’d happily give up his life for her, declaration after declaration of his undying devotion to her.

“Never for once think you have to change to please us.” he stated, ready to fight all of paris for her “Your mama and I will never get rid of you, leave or or anything. All we want is your happiness”

He was sure he had given a rousing and inspired speech that touched her heart

So then why was she looking at him so strangely?

“Papa,” she cautiously asked “what are you talking about?”

“You...doing so well...it’s because of what happened with the hide’n’seek at my house right?” She shook her head

Now everyone was confused

“So why all the great behavior?” Marinette inquired

“Duh, because of my birthday!”

Parent.exe has ceased all functions

* * *

 

“You forgot your own daughter’s birthday? Who does that?” Nino was still reeling from the gut wrenching laughter. 

Marinette and Adrien had to call an emergency god parent meeting during lunch the next day to figure out just how the holy fuck they managed to forget the fact that their pride and joy was about to turn 6.

“Didn’t you read the birth certificate when you got it?” Alya questioned

“I mean, yea we got it but, we kinda forgot...to...read it?” Marinette could not wallow anymore in despair. She felt horrid for nearly missing her lovebug’s big day.

Adrien however would not be deterred “Well all this means now is that we need to plan a party and fast.”

“And how exactly do you plan on getting everything we need on such short notice? We’re not like americans we don’t have a backyard with a white picket fence.”

“Mari” interjected a befuddled Alya “Your parent partner is one of the richest teenagers in paris, his father runs a multimillion dollar corporation, and they live in a house bigger than most palaces...why are you questioning this?”

She hadn’t considered that fact until today “oh...right”

Reluctantly, Mari faced with Adrien with a stern face “Ok, you can plan her birthday party.” His face lit up like a firework, she continued “BUT don’t go overboard with this ok? She’s only turning 6 so don’t go off buying anything unnecessary. No flying her into the party on a helicopter, no fireworks, no lions or tigers or bears. None of it.”

Despite her threats he still had his famous model status grin “Oh my no.” He quipped, waving his hand passively “Nothing like that. It’ll be small and just the people closest to her. But I will promise this. It’ll be one she will never forget.”

* * *

 

*Achoo* Elly rubbed her itchy nose

“Hey what’s your problem?” Sammy jeered “You’re not getting sick are you?”

“And if she was would you take care of her?” Sophie proposed, sitting on the side of the playground with her nose in a book

“Shut up sophie”

“Hey, don’t be mad at me cause you can’t admit to your feelings.” Sammy’s face flushed red “Just own up to the fact that if she got sick you’d check on her everyday.”

He was about to respond (with something along the lines of ‘I don’t have to own up to anything’) but the object of his frustrations was soon right up in his face again.

Eloise latched onto his arm, eagerly watching his features “Is that true Sammy!? Would you come visit me if I got sick?”

“Get off me you cootie infested creep!” The young man was pressed for words. He couldn’t tell her that he’d fake being sick just spend time with her if she asked. Or that he’d make sure to come see her before and after school every single day until she came back. That goes completely against his morals as a man!

She got closer “But you would come visit me right?”. He could see the stars in her eyes and his heart melted.

“W-well duh, you’re my sister’s best friend. I can’t have you dying on her so I’d have to check on you every now and again.” Elly gave Sammy a giant hug and thanked him for caring. She bounded off for a soccer ball so that they could play together.

“Ahh, the uncertainties of young love.” Sophie digressed, patting the back of her emotionally collapsed brother.

“Aren’t you like 5?”

“A better five year old than you”

Meanwhile, Elly finally spotted a ball for them to play with. She went over and picked it up, humming to herself a little song she had made up.

But then it wafted into her nose. That smell. That wretched, repugnant stench.

Gauloises Blondes cigarettes

Eloise gripped her nose, her face tightening in disgust. She felt sick to her stomach and could barely breathe. She knew that horrid odor better than anyone. But why? Why was it here? It shouldn’t be anywhere close to this place. Her head was swimming in a lake of fear and illness. She woozily tilted over but something caught her last minute.

Sammy looked at her funny as he held onto her arm for balance “What are you doing lemonhead? I thought we were gonna play soccer”

Elly swallowed hard and pushed out the terrible smell from her mind “Y-yea. Let’s get going then ok?” Sammy shrugged, unconvinced of her response and started back toward the playground. He didn’t even make it 10 steps before she grabbed hold of his hand. He would’ve protested but he saw her face. It held an expression they both knew far too well from their past.

Fear

“Sammy,” She said in a quivering voice and tears pricking at her eyes “If I ever disappeared...would you miss me?”

He gripped her small hand a little tighter in his and pulled her closer to his side “What are you babbling on about? I wouldn’t have time to miss you because I’d be too busy looking for you. So don’t go making my life hard by getting lost somewhere ok?”

She wiped her eyes with a small smile breaking through on her lips “Ok”

Across the street, Noémie leaned back on the bench and breathed out slow, wisps of smoky gray haloing around her head.

“How sweet” She mused “Already finding her first love.”

Her Christian Louboutin heels clicked loudly on the pavement “I wonder how her face will look when I rip him away right in front of her eyes.” Red lips stretched wickedly into a smile “Turnabout is fair play after all. ”

* * *

 

Marinette could be a real dragon sometimes. True, to Adrien she was typically an absolute saint. She was generous, loving, and usually very patient.

Just don’t fuck with the bakery when she’s on duty.

See, Tom and Sabine had to leave out for a while to get more supplies so they entrusted the store to the three of them, obviously leaving Mari in charge. So in his mind it made sense that he and Elly would help out. Besides, what’s the harm in a little family baking fun. And it had started to simply too. Mari would ring up customers in front and all he and his sunbeam had to do was load in the ingredients to make the dough. Simple work, hardly any thinking involved.

But then Adrien got confused on the difference between butter and margarine.

Elly couldn’t be bothered on the distinction between chocochips and raisins

And neither had apparently learned the phrase “TOO MUCH FLOUR”

By the time she got back to check on them the bakery was as white as santa’s beard after a sugar binge while drowning in milk during a blizzard.

So after they both got a firm talking to, cleaned up their mess, and was washed and changed (which luckily adrien had started storing clothes at the Dupain-Cheng household for those nights when Elly demanded that he stay and they all sleep like one big family) both jade eyed trouble makers were placed firmly on front patrol.

In fact her exact words were “If you come into the back of this bakery again it’ll be on the ‘no sweets’ list for the next month”. The fact that she could say it so nonchalantly ran a shiver right down his spine.

Yup, Mari could be a real dragon sometime

The boredom was starting to feel even worse however as they listlessly watched people stride by in the beautiful weather. Sure every now again a regular would come in and chat with him about Elly but other than that it wasn’t particularly busy in the least.

And yet, Adrien watched Elly talk with a customer excitedly about her latest favorite show. He took a look around the bakery, with its display perched up all nice and neat. He even took a peek back at his ‘wife’, toiling away diligently over some fresh dough.

If he had to choose...this life didn’t seem so bad. In fact this seemed like just the life he needed. Working in a tiny shop, taking it all day by day, never worrying about loneliness again.

It was peaceful

It was simple

It was perfect

All until the woman who smelled of cigarettes came in.

She strided in with a sway all too apparent to be natural. One look at Elly and there were no doubt about it that something was off about this lady. She was straight stiff and refused to even blink. Her breathing was growing shallow again and that alone was enough for him. He took her off the countertop and instructed her to stay silent. With luck he might be able to charm her right out the door.

“May I be of assistance  _ mademoiselle _ ” he said with his fakest model smile

She played up a bashful expression “Oh dear you must forgive me. I’m just looking around for right now. Is there anything you’d recommend?”

“This shop’s tarts and macarons are the best in paris if I had to recommend anything. Perhaps a look in our display will give you some idea’s”

He shifted over to cover Elly with his long legs but it didn’t matter. Elly could feel her eyes pierce right into her from behind her designer sunglasses. She tried hard to look away and for a brief moment Eloise thought the woman was too preoccupied by all the pastries. She warily peered through the glass.

And her stomach plummeted to the floor

She had taken off her shades. Their eyes met. Fear came face to face with pure evil as her own mother stared her down. Noémie popped back up to speak with Adrien.

“You’ve convinced me with that sweet face of yours.” She tweeted cheerfully “I’ll take 5 macarons and a strawberry tart.”

As disgusted as he was to receive a compliment from an old hag like her he had no choice to oblige. Bending down he gave Elly a look to stay tucked away. ‘Just give her the box and she’ll leave.’ he chanted inwardly ‘That’s all it takes’.

“Oh and could you have the little baker girl come out and hand it to me. She’s so cute I just need a closer look”

‘Shit, that’s right’ he cursed to himself ‘I’m Chat Noir. Luck is no such luxury of mine.’

He thought hard for any excuse as to why Elly couldn’t come from behind the counter. She’s in trouble, sick, bad with strangers anything would do!

She tugged on his shirt and had a look of fearful resolve. If going out there and handing her these treats meant she might leave faster then so be it. Whatever it takes.

Her papa rang up Noémie’s treats and gave Eloise the box. She inched her way from behind the counter and tried her hardest to quickly get it over with. Even disguised under all those high end labels Eloise knew a demon when she sees one. Yellowing teeth and rotten looking skin, make up was just poorly crafted face paint on her, Elly hated it. She handed her the box and turned to run back into her papa’s warm arms. Noémie inwardly chuckled.

Elly’s arm was grabbed with a painfully tight grip “Oh no, don’t scamper off too soon. I hope you don’t mind if I admire you a little bit.”

Adrien stepped from behind to counter to put a quick stop to the abuse but Eloise just obeyed and faced back around to her mother

‘So she hasn’t completely lost her fucking mind. Good girl’

Noémie piped up again “What a pretty little miss, is she yours?”

His hand ached as he wished he could just cataclysm this woman’s arm right off “Not biologically miss, me and my partner have adopted her.”

“Adoption? At such a young age! Where is this lucky girl’s mother? She must be quite the looker judging by her husband.” Elly despised it when she said that word. ‘Mother’, It left such a bitter taste that any association to that word should never be attributed to her devoted mama.

“In the back currently. Actually Eloise, I’m sure mama would really appreciate your help back there. No reason for her to do it all alone.”

“What pretty blonde hair” the woman commented, clearly having no interest in whatever Adrien had to say “It was long and thick just like yours. As you can imagine I got so much attention for it. It was nice really.”

She lazily glided her fingers through her sandy blonde hair “But then one day I had a child and can you imagine how much she cried? All day and all night she whined about the stupidest things. Loneliness, feeling sick, food it was such a headache!” out of nowhere she had a chunk of her hair in a vise grip, just enough so that Adrien couldn’t see. She wanted to scream out so bad for help but her mother had this insane look in her eyes. One that said that she wouldn’t care even if she did, she’d still hurt her. No remorse and most assuredly no mercy.

“Eventually, the father got tired of all the crying and left. After that my daughter left me; can you imagine? Left my hair grayed and ugly.”

A long shadow was cast over the pair “Ma’am I do believe that is enough. My daughter has other things to get to this afternoon”. The undercover hero was not happy and it was taking all the resolve he had not to kick the lady on her ass and out the door.

Eloise let out a sigh of relief as the clamp on her arm loosened “Oh dear I was babbling wasn’t I? Of course such a little lady must be quite busy.”. Elly was gathered up gently into her father’s protective hold as Noémie stood at her full height.

She prayed that was the end of it, that she could be finally be left in peace.

Her mother leaned in close. Close enough to make her wanna vomit. She reeked of cigarettes and alcohol as she spoke.

“When you go to help always remember little one: Good girls will  **ALWAYS** listen to their mommies”

Night came and Elly absolutely refused to let her papa go home, he stayed over all night and didn’t once consider going out on patrol either

That same night, through some...unorthodox means, Noémie made a deal with the devil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes Noemie is fucking scary. My poor baby Elly, i swear by the end she will have her happy ending but for now let's all just hope Paris' finest don't burn down the city trying to protect her (but at the same time...would you blame them?). So please comment, kudos, bookmark all the things (But personally I find comments pretty hot so... you know ★~(◡‿⊙✿) (This is how people flirt right?))


	12. Contemplation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's just how dedicated I am to making sure you guys get a chapter every week. I wrote this chapter during midterms, when I should've been writing a paper, during the bus ride back home for spring break, before getting braces put on my face (which hurt like a bitch right now) AND while two african women braid my hair way way WAY too hard. All I'm trying to get at her is: This chapter was a bitch to write and I just hope you enjoy it. Especially the LadyNoir...ESPECIALLY the LadyNoir

Normally she’d be excited for things like this. Elly was having a sleepover at Alya’s house, she could finally go out on patrol, get some good air in her lungs, she should be looking forward to it.

But Mari could not bring herself to push out what happened yesterday from her mind. She was utterly dumbstruck when she found her daughter weeping into Adrien’s shirt. And when she found out what actually happened? If Elly hadn’t pleaded for her to stay close by she would’ve found the woman and strung her up by her neck with her yoyo.

Hell if she finds her tonight she still might, she’s not above using fear to get her point across.

When she finally met up with chat at the Louvre there was an odd tension surrounding him

“Lovely night for an outing don’t you think chaton?” she said, leaning over his shoulder to look down at the civilians walking by

“Not nearly as lovely as you my lady” He replied leaning back to gaze into her eyes

Something was off, that much she could tell in an instant “Alright chat, what’s got your fur all fluffed”

He was surprised by her sharp eye “What makes you say something is wrong? I’m just my usual completely composed self as is usual.”

He let out what he thought was a convincingly passive laugh but she was no fool. There was clearly something knawing at him and she would love nothing more than to talk it out but she was having too many of her own problems to really judge. 

She pulled him to his feet and smiled warmly “I know there’s something eating you but there’s no point in pressing you for details. Instead, how about we take our time tonight, ok?”

He flashed his usual cheshire grin back “sounds like a plan my lady”

* * *

 

So true indeed the plan was to just leisurely take their time around the city but there was apparently a problem with that.

For the 3rd time that night Ladybug found herself perched on the railing across from Alya’s house. 

She looked up at chat “Sorry about this Chaton, for whatever reason my body keeps bringing me back here. God only knows why.”

He peered down at her and waved a hand dismissively “No worries bugaboo, I actually know the family here so it’s good to know they’re safe for the night.”

They heard a commotion coming from inside. They readied their weapons, prepared to fight the impossible.

But what they saw looking in neither could win against.

Sophie had won yet another game against her brother and dared him to give Elly a kiss on the cheek. Too prideful for his own good he mustered up the courage to follow through. Eloise was shocked at first, she wasn’t used to this kind of wholehearted affection. Sammy had hoped she’d just shut up and take it so that they could keep playing in peace.

Oh if only he were so fortunate

Elly was now viciously determined to return the favor as she chased her bestest guy friend around the house. He tried hiding everywhere he could think of to escape her annoyingly confusing affection but she was like a pest, always where you don’t want her to be.

A video text popped up on both eavesdroppers’ phones, detailing the whole event.

“Those two seem pretty cute together don’t you think kitty?” Ladybug giggled 

The look of disgust on Chat’s face was hysterical “She’s way too good for him. Her father would be furious”

“No question about that” She leapt up to the ledge beside him “Come on Alley cat, we have a lot more of the city to get to”

* * *

 

Chat wasn’t sure why seeing his sunshine chase Sammy around the house worked. Logically it should’ve put him in an even worse mood than before. And yet, his body felt a lot lighter, he felt himself focusing a little more. Somehow, in some way, seeing Elly chase around that little punk worked. He and his lady took a pause by the school to catch their breath and get a snack from one of the convenience stores. He was in such a good mood that he might even work up the nerve to talk about what was bothering him in the first place.

“G-GET AWAY FROM ME!”

But apparently that would have to wait for now.

Chat raced toward the screaming voice from the rooftops. He would’ve called for ladybug but she was still in the store and there was no time to wait. Whoever was in trouble sounded desperate and out of time.

He stalked up to the alley from above to get a better look, his electric green eyes glowing. He could see three men surrounding something apparently small, couldn’t tell what it was. Sliding silently down some pipes he inched closer to find out what the assholes were terrorizing.

His rage boiled over from his discovery

“Hey don’t be like that little girl we’re only looking for a little bit of fun. It’s not like you were going anywhere important.”

“Please let me go! I have to get back home. My mama and papa are waiting for me.”

This girl didn’t look much older than Eloise. With bruises all over her skin she coward against the brick wall. One of them crouched down and got in close 

“Look here squirt, that’s the third time you’ve that piss poor line. Now my buddies and I really aren’t that scary. Haven’t you ever heard that american phrase ‘Don’t judge a book by it’s cover’? Well that applies to you too!” He snaked his hand over her thigh “So why don’t we just curl up with a good book-”

Concrete met face which met Chat’s size 9 steel tipped black leather clad boot

“It’s that fucking Chat Noir freak!!” one of the thugs announced. Another attempted to rush him with a steel pipe that broke off. He ducked, grabbed the criminals arm and flipped him right onto his back. Even with a third one sneaking up to land a blow to his head Chat smoothly leaned left, grabbed his sleeve and hurtled him into a group of trash cans.

His breath was hardly labored as all three lumbered up to take another shot at him

‘Come with it fuckers. I won’t let anyone else go through pain ever again.”

**Back with lil ol Ladybug**

“Chatooon! I got our snacks!” Ladybug called out “I even found these neat catnip ones, figured i’d teach you a few tricks!” all she received was nothing but the sound of running cars.

“Where’d he go? I thought I told him to stay”

The sound of painful grunts and thrown bodies coming from close by suddenly caught her attention. She groaned and ran to check it out.

“That better not be him” She grumbled “See, This is why we need the treats”

The scene was straight out of a horror flick

The young girl was fine but the guys that were harassing her...less so. The shorter, fat one was crumpled into in a heaving bloodied mess, his face quite acquainted with the brick wall. Another, pinned violently to the ground by Chat’s staff going through his shirt.

The last molester only prays that he were in their positions

“Fuck man let me go!” It was surprising that the man could even talk considering chat’s gloved hand was firmly surrounding his throat. By now the hero’s breath was shallow from exertion but it was like he had no off switch. This man had to pay for what he did and chat was so close. He could almost feel his claws touch.

‘Just a little tighter’ The voice in his head cooed ‘Or maybe just use a cataclysm, that would end it so quickly.’

A flash of red and black wrapped around his waist as Chat was yanked backwards by his lady’s yoyo. The man fell to the cold ground, swallowing desperately for air.

“Chat what the hell!?” Ladybug scolded “Did you even try to restrain yourself? These are civilians you maniac.”

He pulled hard against the restraints and clenched his fist “Civilians are human ladybug, these are worthless pests that tried to hurt someone who they thought was weak and defenseless”

A sigh passed through her lips “Be that as it may how do you think it’ll look when she sees you grinding these dudes into the pavement”

He froze in place. That hadn’t occurred to him during the fight. He cautiously looked over at her. There was no trace of fear in her eyes. But what was lurking behind those eyes hit him harder than any akuma.

Pity

As if all at once he was rushed with guilt. Even if these guys were the scum of the earth, bringing them to the brink of death would solve nothing. Why even bother?

“What’s wrong ya pussy?” A wheezing voice taunted “You really need some freak bitch like her to tell you what to do? You must be into some really freaky shit huh?”

Chat lurched forward only to be pulled back again “You keep talking jackass and I’m gonna forget just how much energy it takes to hold him back” Ladybug advised coldly

Adrien’s head was ringing too loud with too many thoughts. He had to escape. If he doesn’t...who knows who else he might harm.

Ladybug stumbled back when she felt the string snap. Without even a single clue on where he was going chat leapt up to the roof and sped off to wherever.

“Shit that’s not good” she sighed. Ladybug looked around the disaster and noticed all that chat left behind “Fuck that’s no better”

* * *

 

She was gonna get him back for all this but for the time being she had to play clean up crew (not that different from home actually)

The wind made his ears tingle as he leaned against the eiffel tower.

Why did he go and beat those guys to a bloody mess? What about those assholes made it so easy for him to consider actual murder? It didn’t make any sense. He could’ve just scared them off and that would be the end of it. 

His chest felt so tight. He knew perfectly well why. He just hoped that he wouldn’t have to admit it to himself.

‘She looked just like her’ he buried his head in his knees ‘Alone and afraid. Like she’s been through this pain before.’

Even as he looked over the glittering lights all he only saw the darkness in between them. How ironic. He’d always felt comfort in the shadows. It was somewhere to hide when the light began to overtake him. But now? Now it was like they were creeping in on him. Waiting for that perfect moment where he’d sink just low enough for them to drag him beyond any savior’s reach

Until a voice rang out to him

“I knew I’d find you sulking out here” Ladybug said expectantly. 

Chat refused to even face her right now “I ran away to be alone you know”

“I do know but I don’t care. I’m not asking you to pour your heart out to me.” She knew he was feeling alone right now. So, even if he didn’t speak she didn’t mind just being another body beside him, filling the space.

They sat for a while in silence with nothing but 6 inches of space between them. He thought she’d read the air and leave. He truly did not want to have this conversation. He didn’t wanna face those dark thoughts all by himself.

_ *bzzt* _

The buzzing of ladybug’s phone jolted him out of his funk. She quickly apologized and opened the message.

He could see her face contort into different expression. Confusion, laughter and even disgust at one point.

Chat felt so ignored ‘Uh, Hello?’ he fussed silently ‘I’m having a real inner turmoil over here! Questioning my legitimacy as a hero? ANYTHING!?’

Ladybug was straight up enthralled with whatever she was watching

‘I’m having an existential crisis...and she’s chuckling it up over a text...the fuck’

He craned his neck far to get a peek at this apparently quality content. She quickly caught onto his snooping and pressed her phone against her chest. He figured that would be the end of it and sighed in disappointment

‘Well at least maybe now she can-’

“Chat”

His tail straightened fully to attention “Y-yes my lady!”

Ladybug suddenly scooted up real close to him. His hairs stood on end in anticipation

“You wanted to know why you fought those dudes right? What you were doing it for?”

He nodded mechanically

She played the video displayed on her phone “If I had to guess. You did it for kids like her”

It was a video of Elly all dressed up for bed. She wore the cutest ‘I only wake up for breakfast” pajamas and clutched a stuffed black cat that he’d bought her.

“Alright Elly, how was your first sleepover?” Alya said

Eloise took a deep breath

“I had a super duper fun time! I got to listen to Uncle Nino’s music and dance with Sophie. We played lots of really fun games and I even got to talk about my favorite superhero Ladybug!”

“Is Ladybug your only favorite hero?”

Her face looked like it she had committed the greatest crime known to man

“Oh no, not at all!” Elly thrust the stuffed doll into the camera “I also really, really, REALLY love Chat Noir too! I think he’s really funny like my daddy!”

Chat’s face was turning redder than Ladybug’s suit he was so embarrassed by all the sweet compliments.

“Speaking of him, Wanna say goodnight honeybun?”

You could see Elly’s honey-gold pigtails bounce around wildly as she nodded her head

“So, I know that you’re probably out doing really cool adulty stuff but just make sure you go to bed at some point. Especially you mama! You look like an old lady when you wake up in the morning”

He snorted to suppress his laughter but didn’t notice Ladybug’s look of utter disgust that her daughter would oust her like that

“Anyway, I’m excited to see you tomorrow! Nighty night mama and papa, I love you!”

The screen went black as the video ended. She could see in the dim reflection Chat’s face turned up in a bashful smile. He leaned on her shoulder, his tail lazily yet happily swaying back and forth.

She was first to speak “Being a hero is a lot like being a parent. You work late hours because you spend all day enjoying your kid. Sometimes you have to handle massive temper tantrums and often there’s not a word of thanks for any of it.”

She stood up and look over all the peaceful people walking by

“But, If I know that there are kids like her out there who get to be as happy and safe as she is right now. Then I think that’s thanks enough, don’t you think mon minou?”

The tightness in his heart felt unbearable but it wasn’t from shame or guilt anymore. It was from pride.

This is what he was meant to be. A knight serving valiantly by his Lady’s side. Forever protecting the smiles of those who can’t.

He reached out for her hand…

But was immediately repelled by his own staff in his face

“Nice try you stray!  But I still haven’t forgiven you for ditching me when you threw your kitty hissyfit!”

He could barely speak because she was pressing it so hard into his cheek

“B-but bugaboo I was so conflicted in my emotions! I had to leave to protect you and those around me”

“Emotions my ass. Who had to be the one to yank your staff out of guy’s shirt, comfort a group of sniveling assholes that you weren’t going to kill them, and then ON TOP OF THAT, escort that little girl all the way home? Her parents insisted that I take all these sweets”

She took notice that his ears twitched at the sound of sweets ‘God he has a sweet tooth’

“I truly am sorry my lady, I’ll never do it again. What can I do to make it up to you?” He professed “andpotentiallygetoneofthosepastries” He finished much quicker.

“Hmm I wonder” she hummed passively. She took chat’s weapon from his face and crouched down to his face

“You know you’ve been a very bad kitty tonight, don’t you?” Her voice felt like in was drenched in seduction. His mind flashed back to the night he and his had that flirty chat session. He swallowed hard and nodded slowly.

“Very good. Now then, I think it’s time for you to learn a few tricks, don’t you?”

‘I have no idea where she’s going with this…but I’m gonna be the best pet she’s ever had’

She held out his staff, holding his gaze the whole time “Our first trick for the night, mon minou?”

He held his breath in anticipation…

“Fetch” She tossed his staff right down the tower

“…….what?”

“You have three minutes to retrieve the stick and bring it back to me, In your teeth of course. Succeed and you can have a treat. Fail?... I string you up by your tail till morning, secret identity be damned.”

Only unintelligible sounds came from his lips

“Aaaand start!” She exclaimed cheerily

Adrien had to skip morning classes the next day from how bad his body ached

* * *

 

“Mothy! You’re home!” Hawkmoth was starting to grow real annoyed with his newest akuma. He’d never had someone actually want to be akumatized before, so he took the risk and accepted her deal.

Had he known part of the deal would be her laying up on his couch all hours of the day, smoking on her 5 th pack of cigarettes and constantly being just a general nuisance, he would’ve left her at that decaying apartment building they met up at.

“Have you captured the miraculous?” he responded coldly

Noemie let out an exasperated sigh. She peeled herself off the chic modern couch and swung her arms around his neck, pressing her mature body onto his “oh mothy, you worry far too much. These things take time, like our solid relationship”

“The only thing solid is that door that you will soon be on the other side of. Get my miraculous or leave my sight. I took you in on the chance that you might be worth my time. I would highly suggest that you don’t make me regret it.”

Noemie got off him and returned his icy stare with his own “Pop quiz Mothy”

He raised his eyebrow in annoyed curiosity “What do all living things crave more than anything in the world?”

She didn’t give him the chance to answer “The answer is light. Take someone’s light and they kneel faster than a dollar store hooker”

The sound of heels striking tile rang loud in the open air “Next question, can I still obtain those miraculous however I see fit?”

“Hand them to me with the slightest imperfection and I snap your neck”

“Ooo talk dirtier to me daddy” she retorted

He turned and strode out the door, slamming it behind him “Hmph, can’t take a joke, can he?”

Getting comfortable again on the couch she switched on her phone to an image of Adrien, Marinette and little Eloise walking happily toward the bakery.

“Won’t be long now Elly. Hope you’ve been a good girl for mommy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ain't Noemie just the worse. I love writing her but I also was her to burn slowly and horrifically. That's normal right?... Yeaaaa that's normal. Anyway, going on hiatus for a bit probably for like 10 days or so, just until my spring break is over. After that, back on the running wheel for me soooo see you then!


	13. Pain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo I'm late on this chapter that I can't lie about but I have two things in my defense. 1)...It was my spring break and I was asleep for most of it (or shopping but we don't talk about that. And 2) These next few chapters mean a lot to me and I refuse to give you a shitty product so I had to take my time crafting the first of some real doozy's of chapter. So like I said a while ago....it's gon get dark ladies and gentlemen BRING A FLASHLIGHT. So enough pussy-footing around please enjoy this chapter as much as I've enjoyed writing it

It was so easy

So PITIFULLY easy

Noémie had no clue that she could simply walk through the main doors and saunter her way through the halls with no resistance.

Everyone in the front office must’ve been getting high because even with her scary looking Akuma outfit not even the janitor glanced in her direction

“Such a shame too” she sighed “I really wanted to test out all these fun gifts I got”

She was wondering for a while, peering through each classroom and looking for the daycare, when she stumbled upon something quite interesting

“So her daddy is a student here. How cute” She cooed, watching him from the other side of the classroom door. She saw him talk candidly with Marinette for a moment and figured she must be the busy mom.

Noémie narrowed her gaze “Both parents, happy little baker’s life, not a care in the world. Oh my sweet El, it’ll be so nice to burn all of this to the ground in front of your very eyes.”

“PARDON ME MADEMOISELLE”

Noémie had to hold her ear to keep from losing the eardrum. She lazily turned to be faced with a rather prudish looking old man. He looked absolutely gobstopped by her very presence.

“I am not sure whose parent you are but I cannot allow you to parade around the halls in such outlandish and inappropriate attire!”

She took quite a bit of offense to that last part. Yes her outfit was a bit more...ornate than the average attire, what with the flashy overcoat draped over her shoulders and stainless steel accessories wrapped around her waist and neck.

But inappropriate? Showing a bit of midriff is always fashionable and these girls need to see what real rack can look like.

The old man hadn’t slowed his ramblings in the least by the time she came to realize 5 minutes had passed.

Quite over her impromptu lecture she took a long drag of a cigarette she was hiding in her cleavage.

“MADEMOISELLE WE DO NOT PERMIT SMOKING IN THIS ESTABLISHMENT!!! Are you even aware of the numerous health ramifications of such a repugnant-”

Smoke poured onto his face like water as she blew it out slow. Despite his long harbored hatred for the stench the aroma seemed...pleasant. His eyes glazed over as he stared into her jade green eyes.

‘how pretty’ He thought to himself in a daze ‘They remind me of mother’

“That’s my good boy” she chuckled wickedly “Now then, Mommy needs your help.”

He nodded eagerly. Whatever his dearest mother needed he’d provide. Money, power, it didn’t matter, he’d give this woman the world.

“Be a dear and take me to the kindergarten, ok?” The man was more than excited to lead the way and instantly turned on his heels to fulfill what he considered to be his destiny.

Before leaving, Noémie took another good look into the classroom. Her eyes scanned over the seats and by chance she met eyes Marinette herself.

She had no idea who the gaudy woman was but gave a sort of half smile to be polite. Noémie returned it with a similar gesture and went about her way.

“What an odd woman” Marinette mumbled to herself “She looks tacky as all hell but I’m sure she’s just someone’s parent”

* * *

 

Eloise giggled in absolute glee as she tucked herself away in the storage cabinets with Sammy and Sophie.

She was getting much better at coping with her claustrophobia. So much so that she considered herself to be the Hide-n-seek champion. Over and Over she was making herself be one of the hiders so that she could face the fear head on. The first few games were hard, she kept giving herself up so she wouldn’t have to be alone anymore. But, after the twins offered to be hiding buddies with her (Sammy a little more reluctantly than his twin) she grew to find some ok things about the dark. You can share secrets, maybe take a mini nap, or even just imagine what could be happening on the other side the possibilities were endless really.

“Oooook everyone!” Announced her teacher, Mlle Morel “I’m gonna start counting! So I hope you’re all ready to get snatched up by the seeking troll!”

Eloise giggled again but was shushed by her favorite grump, Sammy “Shut it lemonhead you wanna get snatched up first!”

“It’s not so bad actually” replied an overly composed Sophie “you get hugs and first picks for snacks”

Eloise pouted “Yea but that’s no fun”

“It is when you can sneak off with an extra cracker pack”

“Clam it you two! she’s already started counting”

They all listened close to hear, all three pressing their ears to the door. She was slow and methodical about her counting and they could hear footsteps grow closer and closer to where they were until she landed on one.

And stopped right in front of their hiding spot

“Ready or not,” She called “I’m coming for ya!”

Their hearts were pounding hard. They could hear the ruffling of her skirt as she knelt down to the cabinet on the floor. They could even feel her hands grip onto the handles to pull them ajar.

Elly grabbed onto Sammy tight with a giddy smile on her face. Her eyes were squeezed shut in excitement.

“Oh! Hello there. Are you looking for someone?”

The joyous conclusion never came

“Why yes. I’m looking for one of your students. Her name is Eloise Etienne. I am her mother”

It never would

Eloise’s happy smile flickered out like a blown light bulb

“No” She whispered in a trembling voice “no she can’t be here!”

She tried her hardest to shrink into the corner of the cabinet, pushing up against Sammy who was first to react

“Who?” He whispered “Elly, who can’t be here?”

Her breathing was growing shallower by the minute “My mommy. My real mommy, they said I’d be safe!”

He had no clue what she could be talking about. He looked over at his sister who was peeking through a crack in in the doors. Whatever was out there was bringing Elly back to her days before the orphanage. They had all been there at one point, but this felt far harsher than a small panic attack.

Sammy did the best thing he could think of. He pulled her into a tight hug.

“Listen, I don’t know what’s going on but freaking out will not help it’ll only hurt so instead of thinking of what could happen just stop thinking. I will keep you safe and  Mlle Morel will fix it. Just listen.”

Mlle Morel was on high alert of this intruder. She was no parent and there was no doubt that she was dangerous to everyone in the room.

Even so,  Mlle Morel put on her usual sunshine teacher face to try and talk this woman into leaving.

“My deepest apologies mademoiselle, I’m afraid there’s no one by that name. Perhaps you may have the wrong building.”

Noémie sauntered right up to the teacher, chest to chest “Is that the answer you’re going with?”

Mlle Morel did not take a single breath in her response “That’s the only answer I can provide you. I apologize for not being more of assistance”

Noémie placed her hands behind her back and leaned down to meet the the teacher eye to eye. A mildly amused smile stretched across her lips “You know this city is quite the spectacle”

Their stand-off was intense as they held each other’s gaze “Growing up in my little ‘town’ I never got to see these monuments. The Louvre, Notre Dame, even the eiffel tower. Imagine a Parisian who’s never seen the eiffel tower!” 

She stood back in supposed defeat “But alas there are some things that never change no matter where you go”

Mlle Morel was starting to think this woman was just lost and slightly off her rocker…

Until Noémie’s hand gripped at her throat and hoisted her high into the air, her head hitting the ceiling

“There will always be lying little sluts like you who try to interfere in family business”

Mlle Morel felt like a ragdoll as she was carelessly flung against a wall behind her. Her back struck hard, and she crumbled on the carpeted floor. Sammy had to quickly cover Elly’s ears so she couldn’t hear.

“Eloise my love!” Noémie sung out into the empty classroom “It’s your mommy! Don’t you wanna come out and give me a hug?”

Tears fell like rain off of Elly’s cheeks. Even if she wanted to move, her legs wouldn’t respond no matter how much the voices screeched for her to run.

A little girl with brown pigtails raced out from behind the teacher’s desk.

“Hello! And who is this little friend”?

The girl was ripped from her escape by the ends of her pigtails, Noémie’s fingers wrapping onto the hair atop her scalp. Sophie covered her mouth in horror for their friend, Colette

She lifted the wriggling brunette right to her face, which held a wild, teeth glaring grin “Do you know my little girl? She’s not hard to miss. She looks like she’d be your age”

She suddenly gripped her ear in pain as it was blasted with static

“What are you doing!?” barked a livid sounding Hawkmoth

She groaned “Um fulfilling your half of our deal. Duh”

“I did not agree to child abuse you wretched bitch!”

“Tut-tut my sweet partner in crime, You agreed I could get your miracu-whatevers however I see fit. This is most fitting to me”

“Then I’ll ask it again before I come down and slap you like your last pimp. What the fuck are you doing?”

“Obtaining light” she ripped out her ear pieces and crushed them under her stiletto boot

Colette pushed hard against her attackers arms “P-please let me go! I won’t come into your r-room again Big sis, please I just wanna go back!”

“Sister!?” Noémie howled in laughter “Are all of you drop-offs this fucked in the head!?”

She was growing tired of listening to Colette’s pathetic sobbing sounds, so she got a very ‘practical’ idea in her twisted mind.

“Hey now no need to cry. I can actually make the bad thoughts go away” The sobbing died down as colette prayed that the woman wasn’t lying. She looked up to meet a smiling and almost warm expression. And for a moment she honestly believed her.

But Eloise knew better than to believe such a lie as she silently wailed into Sammy’s shirt.

Colette’s eyes grew wide as flames danced across Noémie’s hand. That smile never left even as the flames eased closer to her bright hazel eyes

“I’ll replace those painful memories with fresh ones so that you’ll never think, or see, that mean old big sister ever again. Aren’t I such a nice mommy?”

Elly tried her best to block out her friend’s shrieks of terror. It’s not as if she could fight her own mother, so how could she help? The twins hugged her close to calm her, but nothing was helping

But then she heard the one thing she could do to help

“El, if you come out now and leave with me. I won't sear this girl's eyes shut. I'll leave the whole class alone right now and they can all go back to their merry lives”

Every cell in her body screamed out for her to sit still, but she still forced herself into the open

“I’m here mommy!” She croaked out, standing in the middle of the room, alone

Noémie snuffed out the flame and dropped Colette on the floor

“There’s my pretty girl!” She gushed, strolling up to Elly and kneeling down to play with her long hair “You’ve been a naughty little rascal haven’t you”

Elly flinched as her mother’s lazily ran her fingers through her hair “Running away, making me worry so much about you. And then hiding from me, causing all this pain for everyone else around you. How shameless, your mama and papa must be ashamed of you”

Her heart stopped when that thought flashed through her mind. She held tightly to the hem of her skirt

“But don’t worry, even if they rightfully drop you on the street, I’ll be right there to pick you back up. I’m the only one who will ever truly love you Eloise, because despite you being a worthless, happiness sucking burden, you are my burden to bear alone. You understand don’t you?”

Eloise didn’t bother raising her head as she nodded, mute.

“Please mommy, just...please keep your promise”

Noémie calmly collected her into her hold and without barely a sweat disappeared over the roofs to wreck havoc on the city

The last thing the twins saw as they ran from the cabinet was eloise green eyes clouded over in helpless submission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was gonna be a MUCH longer chapter where a lot more things happen but I figured I'd give this to you in easier to digest chunks (That and I'm a sadistic fuck) but um yea this is only part 1 of the pain train...Hope you liked it!!! Tell me all about how much you just looooove everything about this chapter in the comments ok? I'm off to go scream about college now!


	14. Sacrifice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter hurt me...A lot. Oh there's a chuckle or two. Marinette gets in a few really solid punches. There's even a reveal. But nothing is without sacrifice dear readers. I just hope y'all are ready to give up your feels. I know I wasn't.

Sammy pushed his legs to the limit

'faster'

Every breath he drew in burned

'Faster'

He felt like he was going to collapse

"FASTER'

But he couldn't stop, he couldn't afford to

Not after the promise he made

***Flashback***

Nothing could prepare his to face this. One moment he's covering her ears and the next she's rushing out into the open classroom alone. He thought that if he kept telling her that things would be alright that she would at least be calm enough not to do anything stupid.

But when he saw those door swing open and her standing rigid in front of the very thing that gave her nightmares…

He found himself ready to fight the fire alongside her

He got as far as creaking the doors barely an inch open before his sister yanked him away and held him down with all her weight.

“Sophie, what the hell!? Get off me!” He growled

“You were about to do something stupid, so no”

“Let me go! If I don’t go out there she’ll get killed!”

Sophie’s eyes narrowed

“And what were you gonna do, huh?”

His mouth gaped like a fish. He hadn’t entirely thought of that.

“What? Were you just gonna run out there, declare your love for her and strike down the evil witch like in our bedtime stories?”

“I-I don’t-” She smack her hand against the wall. His lips were shut tight

“Shut up sammy!” She whispered harshly “This isn’t a fairytale. If you go out there and that woman is insane enough to kill kids then what chance do you have!?”

He recoiled in guilt from feeling the wetness of her tears on his face

“She won’t kill Elly. That’s her kid stupid, that’s why she’s here” She hunched over in fear and sorrow, her voice shaken and cracked “But if she kills you...then I’ll be all alone.”

Sammy relaxed his arms and just held onto his sister. It pained him every second he wasn’t out there fighting to keep Elly safe, but being in that cramped cabinet, listening to his sister quietly sob on his shoulders was far worse than anything that wicked old hag could dish out.

His ears perked up when he could hear Elly’s voice again

“Please mommy, just...please keep your promise”

He could just barely see between the doors, but what he could see was enough.

Sammy pulled himself and Sophie out of closet in just enough time to see Elly disappear over the buildings.

She was gone. In one clear, swift moment the girl he promised to protect was gone and it could be for forever.

All the words he wanted to scream got caught up in his throat. He fell onto his knees, his fists balled up in frustration. He could’ve saved her, but he couldn’t leave his sister behind. He felt weak and helpless. There was nothing he could do and he knew that perfectly well.

“What are you doing on the floor stupid”

He was going to respond but Sophie didn’t bother giving him the chance

“You wanna help save her right? Then get up, we have to go”

His twin pulled him to his feet. They shared a look of understanding and ran as fast as they could through the halls

‘I swear I’ll do something to save you Lemonhead. Just don’t start crying ok?”

***End Flashback***

This is exactly what happens when you hire a drunk to teach a senior class

Once again the professor was passed out drunk from a night of drinking before hand, but rather than spend the time doing anything productive like study or have thoughtful conversation the class had a much more fun idea.

Which is how Nino and Adrien ended up having a competition on who could stack the most stuff on top of their drunk teacher without A) knocking anything over or B) waking them up. Currently there was a 50 dollar bet on Nino fucking it up with Chloé throwing in a clean hundred if Adrien makes it as tall as the podium.

The class held their breath as Nino took his turn

‘150 euro’ Nino chanted in his head ‘I win and we’re going on vacation baby!’

But then the door slammed wide open

And the tower of school supplies came toppling over, just like his dreams 

“My vacation…” Nino whimpered

No one had time to celebrate or mourn as the twins rushed straight to Alya to try and explain the situation.

They were talking a mile a minute, working desperately to get someone to act quickly

“Woah woah you two! You’re gonna make your mom dizzy with all this back and forth.” Nino advised, recovering from his loss to try and be of help “Talk slower, what happened”

Sammy couldn’t bring himself to say it, so Sophie blurted it out instead

“Elly’s gone”

The whole room crashed into silence

“W-what do you mean gone?” Marinette asked cautiously “Do you mean lost, ran away, what?”

“H-her mother came and just started destroying everything. She hurt Mlle Morel, Colette, we thought she was gonna kill all of us. Elly gave herself up to protect us.”

Marinette couldn’t think straight. Why was her mother here? That wicked bitch shouldn’t even know where they were. How? How did she find them?

“Wait”, Marinette suddenly gripped Adrien’s shoulders “What did the woman that came to shop look like; the one that harassed Eloise?”

“Um, she was tall, blonde hair, green eyes, smelled like cigarettes-”

“I knew it! That’s how I knew her”

Adrien tilted his head “The cigarettes?”

“What? No! the green eyes. Earlier today there was some tacky dressed woman outside the door, and the other day...while we were at the park” Marinette’s voice got smaller and smaller until eventually she didn’t say anything and tears fell from her eyes.

It was painful for Adrien to admit too as he pulled her in for a hug. Elly’s mother had been stalking them for a while and they realized it simply too late.

His mind was set

“I’m going to get her back...I swear”

Before she could even protest he released her and headed straight for the door

“I’m sorry!” yelled Sammy finally. Adrien halted his steps but didn’t face him

His voice came out so broken “I promised her that I would fix this, that I would never let her get hurt. But I failed. And now she’s gone and there’s nothing I can do to help her-”

“Enough”

Adrien walked back up the steps and stood, arms crossed, before Sammy.

“You did what you were supposed to, if you had gone after her you and your sister wouldn’t be here to tell us. So I’m telling you this now, stop beating yourself up over this and wipe your tears. It’s unbecoming of a man anyway”

The knowing smile on his face calmed Sammy’s nerves.

Adrien ruffled his hair “Now if you want to do something even more useful, take everyone to their kids. I’m sure they’re eager to make sure everyone’s ok”

He wiped his face and showed his usual toothy grin

“Yes sir!”

Adrien ran out the room with Marinette close behind

“I vote we split up to try and find her, cover more ground” Marinette nodded in agreement, thinking it’d be the perfect excuse to slip off and transform.

If she were to be truthful, she was highly impressed by Adrien’s maturity toward Elly’s could be first love.

...doesn’t mean she’ll let him off scot-free though

“Sooo that heart to heart back there…”

“Yes he is a good kid, yes i’m sure he will grow up to make some girl VERY happy, but you will NEVER get me to agree to that girl being my sunshine”

“You’re so protective” She giggled before they broke off down separate roads

“Till the day I die” He responded with a light-hearted laugh.

* * *

 

_*Boom*_

People scattered in all kinds of directions at the sound of the third explosion that afternoon.

“Isn’t this wonderful El?” Noémie hummed cheerily “You always said that you wanted to see paris!”

Eloise had retreated into herself for protection. She was nothing more than a mute doll as she sat in her mother’s clutch, silent and scared.

“Hey” Her mother barked “I come all this way to save you and all you can do is stare? Didn’t those worthless “Guardians” teach you any manners”

That stung a little harder than Elly expected and so she did something that old her would’ve been too scared to do

She fought back

“They’re not worthless!” She rebuked “Mama and Papa take good care of me and they taught me lots of things!”

Noémie was taken aback by this random act of defiance. Not for very long though as she coated her surprise in loathing

“I AM YOUR MOTHER!” She raged “and in case it hasn’t gotten through that matted, repulsive hair of yours, they’re not here to help you are they?”

She raised her hand to bring it down onto Elly’s face

“So know your place, abomination.”

someone gripped tightly on her wrist

“I wouldn’t be so quick to say disgusting things like that” Ladybug challenged “Her parents are on their way and I highly doubt they’d be ok with you brutalizing their child.”

Elly was dropped like a bag of rocks as Noémie turned to face her next objective

“Oooo if it isn’t the illustrious Ladybug, here to defend the city and banish evil from whence it came”

She eased in, her mouth just inches from her ear

“Just the person I was hunting for”

Ladybug leaped back when she felt a hand on her earrings. She ended up bumping, back to chest, right into Chat who had not an ounce of his usual mirth in his eyes.

“So are you after the miraculous?” She snapped

Noémie shrugged carelessly “Not particularly. I’m after a lot of things, Money, notoriety, a banging ass man that I can pound into the wee hours of the morning. But your little sailor moon bling? Not on my list.”

If glares had the potential to kill, Noémie would be a flaming corpse on the ground right now.

“Then why!?” Chat Noir suddenly barked “Why destroy the city? Why kidnap a child?”

“Well the short answer, my dear pussy cat, is that I’m just that fucked up. But the long answer is much more interesting.”

She pulled out yet another cigarette and from the smoke ran a ring of flames around Eloise, preventing any chance of escape.

“You see, I’m actually a victim! Living a life of poverty and despair, my only solace in this world was my only flesh and blood, sweet baby Eloise over there.”

Chat’s electric green eyes never let her out of his sight as she paced around lazily

“So imagine my shock and horror when I find that my only daughter has disappeared. Adrift, cold, hungry, wandering helplessly in our tiny gutter town wondering where her doting mother could be. I was sooo worried.”

“Drop the distressed mother act” Ladybug warned “You aren’t fooling anyone”

Noémie groaned “Fine, I wanted my daughter back and I figured the quickest way to do that is to strike a deal with one very powerful friend. So here’s the deal…”

She hopped up to the top of a lamp post and presented herself like some pageant queen

“Ladybug and Chat Noir, I am Mère de la Mort and I am here for your Miraculous. Relinquish them to me and I shall leave this city in peace for the rest of it’s days”

“And what about the child?” Chat called out

Mère de la Mort had a look of genuine confusion “Uhh you’re not a very bright kitten are you? She goes back with her real mother of course! And when she arrives she’ll receive the necessary punishment.”

“Hey El," She called out to the ring of fire "how does the cabinet for three days sound? I promise I won’t forget to feed you this time!”

The duo attacked her both sides, trying to catch her off guard, but she easily fell off her post in a simple dodge

“No deal!” Chat protested “Leave now and this can end peacefully. We’re not giving you anything”

La Mère feigned astonishment “Nothing? Oh that’s a real shame, I don’t think my children will be too fond of that.”

“Children?” Out of nowhere the lamp post was jerked back and forth wildly as mind controlled citizens sought to bring it down by sheer force

Ladybug lost her footing and was moments away from falling onto the cobbled street. Chat caught her by the waist and landed them safely a few feet back.

“Thanks kitty,” Ladybug said “but we need to save that little girl. I don’t know what that akuma’s object is, and it’s beginning to be difficult for me to care, but maybe if I can get close enough to her we can find out.”

“Ok simple enough, one problem though, how do we get past ‘The Children’ and keep Mère de la mort still enough?”

Marinette racked her brain for an answer. There had to be something keeping her here, but what?

She scanned the scene, and it hit her!

“Chat, can you make this fight as entertaining as possible?”

He scoffed “I can be a regular class clown if you’d like”

Ladybug unclipped her signature yo-yo

“Good, then try to keep up mon minou” She charged straight into battle, yo-yos a blazing.

***minutes later***

Chat sidestep another rock that was launched at his face.

“Um bugaboo? As much as I enjoy wounding my local postman, who by the way has a mean right hook, I’m starting to run out of steam here”

Ladybug was doing no better. The adrenaline and big talk they had built up was catching up to them and fast. Any more of this and their bodies were gonna crash, hard.

Luckily Mère de la mort had done exactly what Ladybug had hoped. She was seated rather comfortably with a latte in her hand, yucking it up at their hopeless attempts at getting close to her.

‘Dumbass’ she thought smugly

“Chat can you handle things here?” She asked

“Oh yea sure, not like I’m doing anything else today”

Thanking her favorite partner in crime, Ladybug focused all her attention forward. Pushing down the soreness in her muscles she broke out into a dead sprint right at Mère de la mort’s head.

Something was off though, she wasn’t getting up from her seat.

She was just...watching her.

Ladybug roared in anger and hurled her weapon right between her eyes

Mère de la mort didn’t even bother blinking. The yoyo fell cleanly into her hand.

It was a trap

Ladybug was yanked quickly forward. With no real plan in mind she did the only thing that came to mind.

She used her head...

No, literally

Headbutt...solid contact

Hurt like a bitch

Mère de la mort shrieked in pain “I’m gonna fucking kill you”

Even with her dizzying headache Ladybug stood strong, eyes blazing in rage

“Ditto”

It was like an MMA match. Both women punching and clawing at each other with no semblance of a fair match. There would be no real winner, just one body less bloodied than the other.

But it was like this was just a pastime for La mère. Every free moment she got she was pulling out another cigarette, smoking it down to the hilt and flicking it onto the battlefield

“Is this some kind of game to you!?” She huffed “Do you gain ANYTHING from this!?”

Mère de la mort laughed, coughing up a bit of blood from what was sure to be a punctured lung “Of course I do, Excitement”

Ladybug stopped “What are you talking about?”

La mère staggered forward “This is the most alive I’ve felt in years. I don’t give a fuck about that kid. Honestly as soon as we get home i’m just gonna kill her. Why? Because at the very least something will happen.”

Ladybug tripped over her own feet trying to put distance between them. “Unfortunately for you though, I’ve grown bored of this fight. I think it’s time for you to think about your actions”

She was suddenly blasted with a thick cloud of smoke, covering the whole courtyard in darkness.

“Hah, you think this can stop me?” Ladybug’s yoyo spun faster and faster but the smoke just wasn’t moving anywhere. It was like it was alive with the sole purpose of pushing her down with its stench.

‘Fuck, no choice then. This’ll put an end to everything” She called out her last resort. Lucky Charm. This’ll solve everything, that sick bitch will be put down and she can save her Lovebug. All with the help of…

A map

‘This joke has gotten so old’ She thought to herself

She had nothing, absolutely NO use for this item

Her legs gave out and she was left on the floor

“Aww is the itty bitty buggy left with no tricks up her sleeve?” Ladybug looked all around for La mère but she could see nothing in this thick fog

From a distance Chat had finally beaten down the last minion when the smell of smoke filled his nostrils.

He ran for the cloud but was held back by the biting odor

“You know” La mère called out, seated yet again beside a cafe table “If I weren’t a stupid fucking heroine trying to poke her nose in other people’s business, I’d try running away right now.”

She yawned dismissively “Especially since those cigarette butts littered around you can have quite a bit of kick when a little heat is applied”

Ladybug suddenly took grim notice of her position. Everywhere she looked there were cigarettes just haphazardly littered about. She tried getting up but her legs would not move, they were too tired. She was stuck.

The voice came out small and desperate.

“Chat”

He needed no other call. Chat bolted through the smoke, desperate to get to her, but he couldn’t see even his hand in front of his face

Mère de la mort rose from her chair and pulled a match from her chest. Using the bottom of her shoe she sparked it to life.

“Mommy!” Elly screamed out. La mère lolled her head around to look over at her.

“Please” she begged, the tears streaming from her eyes “Not them. Please don’t hurt them anymore”

La mère thought it over. She tapped her shoe, furrowed her brow in contemplation, really made it convincing.

“No” she said flatly “and not because you ran away and not because you disobeyed. But because it’s just too much fun seeing you miserable”

She flicked the match at the cloud

There was a scream

a booming noise

And all at once

There was silence

As the dust cleared there was only Chat, his body crashed through a display window, clutching a eerily silent body.

An aching pain shot through his whole system, he could barely keep his eyes open. He pushed through it and forced himself upright to check on his lady. He had hoped that the suit would have bounced off some of the blast.

But there was no suit

There was no ladybug

Only a tattered and bruised Marinette lying limp in his arms.

His brain didn’t know what to catch up to first. The fact that one of his best friends (and so called “Wife”) was ladybug, the fact that he had just seen her beating down an akuma with no plan, or the fact that he had to find out via explosion.

He checked for a pulse. It was terribly faint.

All other questions seemed irrelevant now.

“Mari” he called out, lightly shaking her “you have to get up now”

Her eyes were not opening. He nudged a little harder “Princess this is no time to be tired. You've gotta give me a sign, anything. You know Elly can't grow up without you.”

He pushed away some broken wood to find anything that might wake her up but even if it was there it was all burnt to a crisp by now. He tucked her in close to his chest, just enough to hear a whisper “Fine, I can’t grow up without you either." his heart ached as he cried over her "Please Mari, please don’t die on me.”

A gentle breeze ghosted across his neck

He briskly wiped off his tears and breathed off a sigh of relief

“So it was the studious mother that was defending her child in the name of a mother’s love...how anticlimactic”

the sound of crunching glass resonated through the broken shop when she strolled in

Chat couldn’t even look his daughter in the eyes. The pain filled horror on her face was enough to shatter his heart alone. She stood in the doorway, silently begging for him to tell her it would all be ok. Chat gripped tighter onto Marinette. This was no way for her to see them.

La mère gripped at his hair and stared deep into his jade-like eyes “My my, now that’s a cute face if I’ve ever seen one. Hey, if you like my little Elly so much, I wouldn’t be opposed to making another one with you.”

Chat swiped at her face, claws engulfed in black flame “Feisty and a little crazy? I think I rather like you.”

La mère looked down at Marinette, all blacked out and bloodied. She tutted disapprovingly “Not looking good is she? Quite frankly you aren’t looking too hot either pet.”

She squatted down looked into chat’s hate filled eyes “I’ll give you one more chance. Give me the miraculous and I’m on my way. No one will have to die today. I suggest, however, that you make a decision fast, my patience and charity are quite running quite thin.”

his mind raced a mile a minute with any possible ways out of this. But it was hopeless. Even if they did get away, there was no guarantee that Elly would go unscathed. There were out of luck, both good and bad. Adrien's met with Elly's. The smile on his face made her cry.

“Hey sunshine” he consoled “I know things aren't really good right now, but mama and papa need you to promise something ok?”

Elly hiccuped relentlessly as she nodded

“Promise us that you’ll still be our smiling little sunflower until we come to get you. Then I promise, you can cry all you want ok?”

It took her a while, but eventually she gulped down her tears, wiped her face with her sleeve and put on her brightest smile “Ok papa, I promise I won't cry anymore."

He return her warm grin with one of his own “There’s our happy girl”

La mère stood between them and glared down “Do we have a deal?”

Wordlessly, Adrien removed his ring. Even with his superhero healing the scars that littered his body would probably take forever to heal. He removed Marinette’s earring with a gentle hand and handed them over, all the while giving La mère a look of pure rage.

“Pleasure doing business with you. My offer for another Elly still stands by the way”

And like that it was just Adrien and Marinette. Laid out on the boutique floor with nothing to show for their efforts. No powers, no plan, no Eloise

His nose pricked with the scent of thunderclouds

'It's going to rain soon' he turned to look outside 'fuck'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said THIS CHAPTER HURT ME TO WRITE AND I'M SORRY OK? IT HAD TO BE DONE. please comment what you think about this chapter this. Ive wanted to write this chapter since I first came up with this fic so any help is so appreciated you have no idea (Especially you Amynchan, you're honestly my best commenter :D)


	15. Truce

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what crack I've been on over the past few days but to get a chapter out in basically 3 days? I clearly need to get me some more of it (Note to self: call ricardo). Anywhoosits its a eeeeew chapter and a lighter one at that! (Not super light, more like 16th century oil lamp on, kinda light). So please by all means enjoy away! Meanwhile I'm gonna go put together a communication arts presentation that's due on tuesday! (Isn't procrastination greeeeeeat)

_She was so pretty dressed up like that. Big, fluffy dress. Shoes glittering with rhinestones. A crown that hung on her head crookedly from being one size too big…_

_She looked as she always did_

_Like mama’s precious little princess_

_But...why couldn’t she reached her?_

_Everytime she got close her hand would start to burn_

_“Mama…” she called out_

_She tried again and again but it was like touching iron fresh out of the flame_

_The realization made her stomach twist_

_Her princess was locked up in some golden cage like a pet canary_

_Her voice rang out frantically this time “Mama, I need you! Please, I don’t want to be with her!”_

_She gripped the bars with all her might but the heat was too much. Her hands were covered in burns and scars._

_Not even her own tears could quench the pain._

_“Mama, why won’t you save me!”_

_“I-i’m trying! The bars are too hot!”_

_“I don’t care! I don’t want to go back with her! She’ll kill me!”_

_“I know baby. Please, don’t cry-”_

_“WHY DON’T YOU LOVE ME MAMA!?”_

Marinette shot up screaming in guilt

But the aching in her body forced her down, yelping in pain

“JESUS FUCK” Alya exclaimed, nearly dropping a bucket of water on the floor “If you’re gonna get up from a coma, you could at least do it without scaring the piss outta me.”

Marinette looked down at her arms. They were bandaged all over with cuts and bruises. Looking over at the mirror hanging on her wall, she saw a hello kitty band-aid on right cheek and a fantastic four one on her left.

“Courtesy of the twins” Alya joked “They were so determined to help they just stuck them on when I wasn’t looking”

She stared up at the ceiling, pictures of Elly’s crying face flashing across her mind. “How did I get here? The last thing I remember is looking for Elly”

Alya nodded knowingly, wringing out a cool cloth and patting it all over Marinette’s forehead “Yea, you also remember the fight with Mère de la mort, don’t you?”

Marinette’s voice got caught in her throat as her eyes looked everywhere except into her best friend’s Hazel ones

“Whaaat I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She doged “I don’t know how I got these. Must’ve been from a pretty nasty fall hahaha” She laughed nervously

She could feel the unimpressed look she was getting seep into the back of her skull

She squeaked in pain as Alya pinched at some bandages wrapped snugly around her chest “If you’re gonna attempt to lie to me, please get a little better at it. For your own safety”

Marinette relaxed once the sharp pain in her side relaxed

“I ran out looking for Eloise shortly after you left, ended up stumbling across your fight with her ‘mother’ and helped Adrien take you home to get you patched up”

Her eyes softened, if she had known that Alya would be so accepting of her being Ladybug she would’ve told her long ago. Oh, who was she kidding? This was the girl that ran into potential danger just to help her. She should’ve told her forever ago.

...hold on

“You left the kids just to save me? Why the hell would you do that!?”

Alya’s eyes narrowed in annoyance “The fact that you think I left my kids alone, without their father watching them, makes me wanna pinch you again...please don’t make me do that”

She dropped that subject like a bag of hot rocks

Her mind started to wander though. ‘The fight was going so well’ she thought. She had La Mère on the ropes, Chat was handling her cronies…

Oh no! Chat!

“Hey Alya” She hummed in acknowledgement “When you took me home...was Chat Noir with me? I know he risked himself to save me...I just wanna make sure he’s ok”

She helped Mari sit upright and nodded over to the end of the bed “Why not ask him yourself”

Mari was thoroughly confused. All she saw was adrien, propped up against her wall, dead asleep and deeply scarred all over his bared chest

“Even injured he’s hot as fuck” she muttered to herself. She slapped her hands over her mouth “oh i’m sorry are the twins here”

Alya scoffed “If you think they’d be traumatized by that, you might wanna stop leaving Elly at our house”

“Wait,” Marinette stopped and thought for a moment “You said ask Chat Noir, but it’s only Adrien here”

Alya sucked in a breath “oooo my sweet, summer child.” She patted her cheek patronizingly “I’m gonna need you to think this one out”

But what was there to think out? Chat Noir saved her from the blast, Adrien brought her home. It was simple. No thought needed

Marinette scooted in a little closer for a better look. Hmmm. Blonde fluffy hair, golden tanned skin, fit but not beefy.

She got in even closer. They had the same strong but gentle hands, and even the same pouty lips

Their noses were basically touching now

“May I assist you with something my lady?”

‘Damn even the same green eyes’

“Not now kitty I’m trying to figure out why you and Adrien are so similar”

“Perhaps because we’re the same person”

“Hmmm maybe. But I’m not convinced”

“Well, while normally I’d swoon over this kind of intimacy, there one too many people here for anything interesting to happen”

“Oh please, don’t mind me in the least” Alya chimed in, the sound of a flashing camera ricocheting around the room

…….

Marinette suddenly became alarmingly aware of her position.

Making the cutest “Eep” sound he’s ever heard in his entire existence, she rushed quickly to the other side of the bed, shooting a sharp pain down her back.

She collapsed back onto her pillow, but not because of the back pain

But because the truth was becoming far worse than fiction

She hoisted herself up again, slowly this time, and faced facts

“You’re Chat Noir aren’t you”

“Yes ma’am”

“And you are fully aware that I’m Ladybug”

“Correct”

“And now the whole world knows who we are”

“Not true” Alya corrected

The heroine turned to her best friend with an upturned brow

“Currently only we, Nino, your parents, and the twins know”

She breathed a sigh of relief….

And then immediately buried her face in her hands, letting out a groan of disbelief

“So this means that all those nights I spent with you in my room, rattling off at the mouth about how much I liked this ‘big name model’ and how ‘oh he’ll never be into a girl as frumpy as me’ I was actually telling it all to…”

“Me, the big name model, yes”

The groan grew way louder

“If it’s any consolation I am still in love with ladybug, who just so happens to be another ‘frumpy girl’ that has a pretty comfy seat in my heart”

He was suddenly, once again, getting a very in depth look into her eyes

She couldn’t even feel the pain that time since the shock of potential returned feelings was enough for her

“Do you actually mean that!?”

He face flushed pink as he wasn’t quite ready to face this part yet. His eyes faced everywhere but her own to try and find an excuse out of this

Unfortunately he looked down though

He really shouldn’t have done that

Not even 8 inches away from his face was the skin of Marinette’s very creamy cleavage. He knows the bandages were there to help her heal. He KNEW that, that’s why HE had them! But they left just enough to the imagination to leave him wondering.

His mind was trailing off ‘Just one minor slip and they’d just fall away...’

The click of a camera brought him back to reality. He snatched up his white button up and shoved into her hands

She caught on a little too quickly for his tastes, scooted her way onto the far side of the bed and covered herself up with his shirt.

He scratched the hairs on the back of his neck and tried to lighten the mood “Well thank god Elly wasn’t here to see that. Don’t need her learning anything odd, ha ha ha”

Marinette whipped her head toward him, panicked

‘Did not lighten, I repeat, DID NOT LIGHTEN’

“Adrien...Where’s Eloise”

He bit his bottom lip and played with loose thread on the comforter

She fell back against the wall and fiddled with her ear to destress

“Where are my earrings!”

You could practically see Adrien shrink as transferred to twisting a ring that also wasn’t there

The tension was ungodly thick and the silence was putting both heros extremely on edge

They nearly jumped a foot in the air at alya giving a solid clap

“Well since you’re now both awake I’m gonna go check on the kids and bring back something for you two to eat”

She made it a point to look both of them in the eye

“It should only take ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF. I WILL BE BACK BY THEN”

“Thank you Alya. Could you bring the twins when you get back? I want to thank them for their help.”

Alya cut her eyes at her bestie. She knew it takes her at least 30 minutes to get those two anywhere.

She was buying time...a lot of it

“Mmmm, If they’re up at this time I’ll think about it” She left the room with her Hazel colored eyes being the last thing she made sure they saw.

Adrien flopped over on the bed, thinking he might’ve been safe from harm.

Who knows why he would ever think that

“You are not off the hook Adrien” He visibly flinched at the looseness in which she used his real name “Start talking. Fast.”

He rubbed his face vigorously to psych himself out. He sucked in a deep breath and prepared himself for whatever came next.

“We lost. Mère de la mort has Eloise and the Miraculous”

She felt like a knife was being dragged into her

“How?”

He pretended like he didn’t hear the question

She slammed her fist onto the nightstand and commanded his attention

“HOW DID SHE GET THEM?”

“BECAUSE I GAVE THEM TO HER OK!?” He blurted

He clammed up quick and got off the bed to go to the other side of the room

She couldn’t understand what he was telling her “Y-you did what?”

Adrien ran his fingers through his hair in frustration “I handed her the miraculous and she ran off with Eloise in tow”

Her voice was so small it was barely over a whisper “why would you ever hand over the only thing we had to protect our daughter”

He crossed his arms over his chest “Because the same things that protected her were the same things that were gonna get all of us killed, her included. I had to make a choice.”

“AND SO YOU MADE THAT CHOICE WITHOUT ME!?” She was so unbelievably pissed that if it weren’t for the tears running down her cheeks she was pretty sure she’d kill something, most likely him.

“What option did I have Marinette?!” He snapped back “You were fucking unconcious. I thought you were dead! We. Were. Beat. The only I could think to do that might’ve saved everyone was to just give her what she wanted”

The sound of thunder crashed outside

“And look where we are now huh?” she challenged “Left with no powers, no clue as to where they are, and so damn broken that these scars will probably last forever!”

They were in each others face now. Screaming and hollering about what would’ve been the right choice.

Marinette surprisingly broke first “Look i’m sorry ok!?”

Her heart wretched in every way as she had to face the horrid reality “I know you wanted to save her. Obviously, you’re her dad. But without ladybug, without those powers I. am. Nothing. I can’t save her. Shit, I can’t even save myself”

The sound of her sobbing was too much for him to bear. His heart just broke.

“I am so sorry Mari. You were just right there. In my arms, silent, barely breathing. I couldn’t even think straight. And when I had to see Elly’s face just standing there, begging for me to make it all better. I broke. And I broke because I’m weak and now she’s gone-”

Marinette flew right into his arms. The force was so strong it toppled them right over onto the floor

“Don’t you ever say that” She sobbed “You have never been weak since the day I met you. Both sides of you. I’m sorry I wasn’t there I’m so so sorry for leaving you alone to make that decision”

Outside the rain was pouring down harder and harder. People were receding into their homes one by one with their loved ones happily in tow. But there were Marinette and Adrien, lying on her plush pink rug and crying their eyes out over the one they miss most.

“We suck as parents” Marinette hiccuped into Adrien’s chest

He rubbed her back soothingly and stared up at the ceiling “I know”

“Perhaps I can assist you in atoning for your ineptness”

There he stood. Hawkmoth, their most hated enemy, stood in her room with an umbrella in hand as if he just walked in from the rain on her balcony.

He smirked smugly as he thought he had caught them speechless

That smile was almost instantly pelted off his face from a stuffed Ladybug plushie (the bug not her)

“How did you find us!” She snarled

“Well if you mu-”

This time baby blue seal plush

“How do you know who we are!” Adrien growled

“I don’t think doing this wi-”

Now a strawberry cream puff toy

“I swear to god, you say anything stupid and I will start throwing sharper objects”

“I’ve seen her desk, she’s not kidding”

“I’d be happy to tell you if you’d just sto-”

They didn’t even bother letting him finish as they threw plushie after plushie and pillow after pillow at him.

He quickly got tired of that shtick and batting them away with the umbrella

“ALRIGHT NOW GOD DAMMIT, ENOUGH OF THIS!”

Marinette refused to face him “hah, you’re just lucky we ran out of things to throw”

“Yes, I am fortunate and you might be too if you just shut up and listen for a moment”

She had no interest in hearing what he had to say but then again Adrien was usually the more forgiving one out of the pair. He lifted himself off the floor and sat them both on her mattress, Marinette pressed flush against his chest and pouting.

“You have about an hour and a half to make your case. Her best friend is coming back and I can assure you, she’s not as nice as we are”

“Duly noted” he replied “Firstly, how I found you was simple. I was there at the fight”

Marinette clicked her tongue “Figures, you would be”

He suppressed a snarky comment coming forth as he continued “I saw your friend help you here and I followed you. Not the most elegant way to find out your arch enemies secret identity but there you go.”

He took a seat on Marinette’s swivel chair “As for why I am here…”

Hawkmoth, again, the same man that was at the second place of their shit list right now, then did something that made their heads spin

“I’m sorry” he said, eyes and head lowered “I did not intend for any of this to happen”

“Bullshit” Adrien harshly stated “She gave you what you wanted. What do you have to be remorseful about?”

“Yes, I did want your miraculous. I will not sit here and lie about that. However, I in no way expected her to use children as leverage. Besides, I still don’t even have your miraculous.”

Marinette watched his expressions closely “What are you talking about? Why wouldn’t she just hand them over? Don’t you, like, have control of her mind or something?”

Hawkmoth sighed resentfully “Typically, yes, I do. But, since she willingly offered herself to be akumatized, there was no mind control present. We only worked together over a deal.”

“Which would be?”

“That as long as I get the miraculous she could obtain them however she saw fit. Had I known that she would resort to child kidnapping I would not have, under any circumstances, used her as an akuma”

“Oh yea because akumatizing children yourself is so much cleaner”

He had no answer for that so he held his tongue

“Just answer this.” She said “You said earlier that you would help us. What’s in it for you and how?”

He cleared his throat “What’s in it for me is simple, revenge. As I stated prior, she is holding the miraculous hostage from me so that she can reassure her comfy space in my lair. On top of that she is deliberately withholding her end of the bargain so at this point I’d rather get back at her than have the miraculous.”

“And as for the how” Adrien questioned

Hawkmoth chuckled smugly “If you can lure her out of hiding, I’ll give you your miraculous back. On top of that, I will personally hand deliver them and your daughter”

He just barely ducked a book aimed at his head

‘Tweety you so better be worth all this’ he fumed in his head

“La Mère told me that she was just gonna off Elly as soon as they got home. Why would she change her mind now?”

“Hell if I know! Probably to drag out the fun in terrorizing her. She twisted in the head in case you haven’t caught on”

Adrien, who had been fairly quiet during their back and forth, finally spoke up

“Fine, let’s say she changed her mind. Let’s say you can’t control her. And hell, let’s say you are sorry. What proof do you have that our daughter is alive?”

Hawkmoth straightened his posture and held a stoic expression. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a smartphone. Turning it on and entering a code, he handed it over.

The footage gave them hope, but not without its dread

It was live surveillance feed of his hideout. Noémie was, of course, drunk off her ass and smoking like a chimney.

But she wasn’t alone

Eloise was trapped high up in a golden like cage

‘like a pet canary’ Marinette mournfully reminded herself

* * *

 

_Noémie looked positively sickening. She could barely keep herself upright as she downed another swig of vodka with no chaser. She lumbered up to the cage and banged the bottle against the bars._

_“Why don’t you sing for mommy, El? Since you’re in that pretty little cage I made for you and everything”_

_Eloise didn’t say a word, she simply sat on the furthest corner of her prison._

_Noémie banged louder, almost breaking the bottle into a million pieces_

_“Don’t fucking ignore me! I am your mother! You’re supposed to follow my every fucking word!”_

_Eloise tucked her head between her knees. She blocked out her mother’s hateful words by reminiscing about how much fun she’d had with her mama and papa, the real people who loved her._

_“Why isn’t this working?” Noémie slurred, violently waving the clear bottle around and splashing Elly with the foul smelling liquid “You’re supposed to be on your knees, crying, and begging for me to let you go! So go ahead! Beg for your life so I can just burn it all down in front of you”_

_It was quiet for moment. It was the type of silence that Noémie had grown terribly accustomed to; the kind that felt like no one but her was in the room._

_Eloise lifted her head. There were no puffy red eyes, no snotty nose, nothing._

_All she did was smile_

_“I can’t cry yet, mommy.” She beamed “My papa said that I had to wait till he came for me. So until then I won’t cry a single tear!”_

_She was dumbstruck. What could she even say to that? She was too drunk to come up with any real threats so she settled with kicking the cage a few more times, staggering off to a closeby bed and passing out cold._

_Eloise breathed a sigh of relief and let out a real smile. She picked up a piece of bar that had broken off and busied herself, drawing pictures on the floor and humming a silly tune_

* * *

 

Marinette could hardly see past her teary eyes but she could feel Adrien’s smile against her back.

“That’s our girl” he hummed “Sunny since the day we brought her home”

He handed the phone back and faced hawkmoth with a very stern expression

“So you’re telling the truth. Congratulations.”

“Christ, it takes a lot to impress you teen parents”

“BUT, despite you even helping us we still have no powers. Even if we wanted to face her again, we’d have nothing to face her with”

He snorted rather mockingly “Paris’s finest heroes and you can’t even survive without your little spandex”

“Says the man in a purple butterfly suit” Marinette retorted

He turned away as adrien snickered at him

“Also, on the off chance that your monitoring skills are as weak as your fashion sense,-”

‘I am the forerunner of parisian fashion!’

“Every time I use my ace in the hole ‘Lucky Charm’ I get stupid shit like this…”

She tossed the almost narrowly burned map from their fight onto her desk. He picked it up and looked it over.

“...a treasure map?”

“Yes a treasure…”

.......

She snatched it out of his hand and opened it up big for a closer look

Red X marks were littered all over the map, 8 in total, all seeming to lead to some building circled all in red with dramatic arrows surrounding it.

Her eyes looked liked they were trying to burn a hole through the paper “I...I have no idea what this could possibly mean”

“They’re alleyways and hide-away hang out spots” Adrien casually noted, chewing on a twizzler “And that big red circle is where they're building a new hotel”

“D-did you find my candy stash?”

“Yea, why?”

“Dammit Adrien, Alya’s bringing us food you’ll spoil your dinner”

“You say spoil, I say prepare”

Hawkmoth cleared his throat, calling back their attention

“And how do you know this, but she doesn’t”

Adrien bit off another piece of the red rope “Ever since Mari started missing patrol to take care of Elly, I’ve been using the alone time to hang out with the late night locals. They’re actually pretty fun”

‘So that’s why you’ve been exhausted during all your shoots’ hawkmoth grumbled to himself

“And the construction site?” Marinette inquired

“Oh I’ve just been using that place to ‘Hang around’.”

 _*Poof*_ black pawprint plush to the face, courtesy of hawkmoth

Marinette returned to the map to think

‘Even if I know all this, I still don’t know what to do with it! Ugh, this whole thing is insane! And on top of that, her mother is just treating it all like some sick game!”

…….

“A GAME!”

She jolted out of bed, accidentally knocking Adrien’s head back into the wall

She apologized and soothed his aching skull “Adrien you said all these little spots were in alleyways and hide-out bars right?”

“Yea?”

“What is now Elly’s favorite game?”

“Uuuuh hide and go seek?”

“Yes! And since this whole stupid endeavor is just one big game to her bitch of a mother, why not play for some real stakes”

Marinette cut her eyes at Hawkmoth and gave a look that translated to ‘You better not say one wrong thing out of your face’

“If we can get Mort de la Mère out of your hideout can you swear to uphold your end of the deal?”

“I am many terrible things ladybug. But I am nothing if not a man of my word”

“Um Mari” Adrien interjected “I’m all for...whatever this plan might be. But there’s a slight problem. We don’t have anything she wants. No booze, no high end cigarettes, nothing”

Marinette furrowed her brow. He had a point, she had her ultimate prize. So what would draw her out long enough to go along with the plan?

She got so lost in her thought that she hadn’t even noticed herself absentmindedly scratching along adrien’s scalp where his cat ears would be. She did it so often during their late night patrols that it became second nature to her.

He most definitely didn’t mind though as he took to his own habit. He laid himself out onto her lap and reveled in the satisfying sensation. He was, of course, her self proclaimed ‘pet’.

Now that they were finally at a moment of peace, Marinette took the time to give her partner a decent once over.

‘He really is quite the attractive kitty’ She thought, moving her hand to cover the back of his neck ‘Perfect skin, broad shoulders, and muscles in just the right places to make any anyone’s heart melt’

She chuckled to herself ‘Any woman would kill to take him home with them’

He poked at her cheek “Uh princess? You’re most definitely staring again”

She blinked herself to reality and took instant notice to the flushed red tint that spread down to his aforementioned ‘broad shoulders’

She snatched her hands away like he was made of fire

“IIIIIII am so sorry” she babbled out

“No no! It’s fine! it’s just-” he leaned in close to her ear “There’s still one too many people here for anything interesting to happen”

“I can hear you!”

He made a shooing motion with his hand “And that’s a problem right now.”

Marinette was utterly horrified. She must look like a complete creep!

She cracked open her fingers to sneak a peek at him. She breathed a sigh of relief. He was just sitting there crossed leg atop her comforter, a stupid grin plastered across his handsome face (you could practically see his tail happily swaying behind him)

She was gonna have to get used to the fact that her well mannered dreamboy was also her pun addicted partner

but even still she felt a warm smile creeping onto her lips ‘Yea...anyone would want a cutie like him’

“Sooo any ideas what we could lure her out with?”

Marinette looked him up and down

And it came to her

She didn’t want it to, but it came to her

“Yea, I have an idea or two...you might not like it though” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I gotta know from you guys. A) What do you think Mari's plan is. B) who's side of the argument do YOU agree with. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY...C) Did Adrien spoil his dinner with the sweet taste of twizzlers. THESE ARE THE REAL QUESTIONS PEOPLE.


	16. A proposition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! another chapter down!!! I don't have much to say about it but...have fun with it!

2 days.

It had been 2 whole days since Elly had last seen her mama and papa. She was sure that they hadn’t forgotten her. Her mama was probably tearing apart the city looking for her and her papa was probably trying his best to keep her from doing anything illegal. If Eloise knew nothing else it was that they loved her.

But when her mother berates her with nasty comments…

“It must be pretty fucking sad to be dumped on the street again”

And

“Their pain is on your hands. Now maybe you’ll reconsider before leaving me behind”

...it made her worry sometimes

Nighttime had fell on her second day of being trapped there. Her mother was doing her usual hourly routine of terrorizing and verbally abusing her, when her phone pinged with a notification.

“The fuck?” she questioned. She walked over to pick it up as she read the headline that crossed over the screen

_ Ladybug Issues a Statement to Local Terrorist _

“Oh this has to be good for a chuckle” She scrolled down and sent the video to play on the large screen TV

Eloise peeked from behind her dirty blonde hair, hoping that it might be a sign. She got her wish as her mama appeared on screen.

She scrambled to the edge of the cage for the best possible view

Just then, the sound of heavy footsteps resonated throughout the room as Hawkmoth walked in.

Elly watched curiously as he approached her mother. She was never entirely sure how to act around him. She always aired on the side of caution but despite his icy cold stare she could feel a bit of warmth behind them. He was the only one that consistently remembered to feed her and from time to time he’d even slip in a pastry for her. They spoke no words to one another but she was sure that if they did, she might be able to become friends with the man.

“Oh mothy! Just in time!” Noémie said cheerily “I found this really neat video and figured we’d have a movie night. You in?”

Hawkmoth saw the thumbnail for the video and let a smug smile slip onto his lips “Very well.”

He sat himself on his luxurious couch and crossed his long legs.

The video was shot in a dark room. A studio that she may have snuck into. She stood before the camera, her eyes red and bleary from crying and her voice seeped out nervous and shaking

“My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I am 18 years old and I am Ladybug”

Noémie ‘ooo’-ed at her reveal

“I have been assuming the role of hero for the past 3 years. In that time I’ve gone through many traumatic things but recently I’ve taken a hit that I can no longer let stand”

She took a deep breath

two pictures of Elly and Noémie were brought on screen “2 days ago my adopted daughter, Eloise, was kidnapped by her biological mother, Noémie Etienne or as some of you might know her Mère de la mort”

Eloise’s heart swelled with relief. She knew her mama didn’t forget her.

“I am not looking for revenge. I don’t want a fight or anymore carnage. I just want my daughter back. And I am willing to do whatever it takes to be reunited with her again”

Noémie made sour face “Yeck, what a snooze fest! And here I thought it’d be interesting. Yawn!”

“Noémie” Marinette said “You are an awful, cruel, abhorrent BITCH of a human being”

“Aww I think she’s warming up to me”

“But, even you aren’t without your price”

Noémie raised an eyebrow in intrigue

Marinette took in a deep breath “Let’s play a game. A game of hide and seek”

Her lips curled into a malicious smile “She’s caught my attention”

7 images came up on the feed “These people you see here are all important to Eloise. They are her grandparents, aunts and uncles and even her best friends. They have agreed to be apart of our game and have been given colored bandanas as markers”

Noémie fully leaned in to study all of their features “If you can find them, her father and I, and collect all of their bandanas...you win. The only way for us to win is to gain back our miraculous and defeat you”

Before Noémie could even make another comment Marinette addressed the elephant in the room “I know I don’t have anything you want. You have my daughter, you got what you came here for, but this may convince you to agree”

The lights cut out entirely on the video and one second later a single overhead light flickered on.

Noémie clambered up to the tv screen. He was something out of her fantasy.

Adrien Agreste was chained up to the floor. Water flew from his golden features as he struggled against his bonds. His shirt was ripped open and she could barely contain her drooling stares

***Flashback***

“Uh, Mari. Are you sure this will work?” Adrien questioned as Marinette nudged him toward their set

“What about the plan won’t work? She goes looking for the bandanas and in the meantime we gradually lure her to the rendezvous point. Sounds solid to me”

Adrien scratched the back of his neck “Yea, see. That’s not the part of the plan I’m nervous about. It’s really the whole...let’s use me as some sexy bait to get her to come out...part...thing”

It wasn’t at all that he didn’t trust her. Hell, he just recently found out that she’s been his lady, the girl that, 9 times out of 10, was the brains of the outfit. So his faith in her was resolute. But, he only just recently started using his “sex appeal” in photoshoots so he wasn’t confident in that department yet.

“You said it yourself chaton, the crazy skank has a thing for you so I can’t imagine a better lure! Just try to channel your inner chat.” She stood on her tiptoes and whispered flirtatiously in his ear “It’s always worked on me”

His mind flashed back to their texts and that stressful (but oh so nice) game of fetch. His ears burned red and he turned to face her exasperatedly.

“But princess, that was cause I wanted your affections! I want nothing to do with that nut job. Do you honestly think I can win over some middle aged woman who I want nothing more than to cataclysm her face off!?”

Marinette took Adrien’s face in her hands. She smiled warmly as she placed a soft kiss on his forehead. She stared deep into his green eyes and spoke gently but confidently.

“Yes, I do. And you will because you love Eloise as much as I do, maybe even more. You would go to the ends of the earth for that girl, so I KNOW you can pull this off”

Adrien had a bashful smile across his face. She was right, if anyone could seduce a wicked witch like her it would be him and him alone!

_ *riiiiiiiiip*  _

“And with this you’ll definitely win her over!” Adrien rushed to cover his now exposed tanned torso, but Marinette gave him no time to recover as she dumped a bucket of water all over him. He was now wet, torn and utterly speechless.

She spun him around and shoved him straight toward his spot on the ground.

“Knock ‘em dead Kitty!”

***Flashback End***

Marinette brought the camera over to his position and got in close to his face.

“Papa!” Elly cried. She refused to let herself cry but seeing her papa in so much pain hurt her more than anything.

Marinette brought the camera back up to her face “Noémie, if you agree to my terms and you win, Chat Noir, Adrien Agreste, is yours.”

Eloise couldn’t fathom it! Why? Why was her mama doing all this? If she had known that this would happen she’d tell them to forget about her all together. Her poor papa. She silently begged for forgiveness.

But sadly it felt like her words would fall on deaf ears

“Marinette, this is insanity!” Adrien cried out “Our daughter is already dead! Let me go and be done with this!”

Her eyes widened in shock and her breathing was growing shallow again from the anxiety 

“Papa” she rubbed her eyes to bite back the tears “you...don’t really think that do you?”

“This is the only way to get her back,” Marinette yelled “don’t you miss her?”

Adrien let out a curt laugh “Why should I? It’s not like we can’t just make one ourselves”

Her heart shattered. The ground below her could swallow her whole right now and she’d welcome its silence.

The voices screamed relentlessly in her head. And the part that hurt her most was that they were right. She could never be loved. She was a worthless burden that others would do anything to get rid of, even if it meant hurting themselves to do it.

Eloise doubled over in pain and screamed as loud as she could anything to silence the voices in her head, telling her over and over that she’d be better off dead.

She screamed until her voice became hoarse. With no energy left she laid silently on the floor. Never once did she shed a tear. Not because her papa told her to do so, but because she merely had no tears to shed.

Noémie paused the video and walked up to her cage. She knelt down so that only Eloise could hear her.

“This pain is unbearable isn’t it? That empty, black feeling of being left in this world with nothing truly keeping you here. No friends, no family, no one who will ever say that they love you. But don’t worry El, when I win, and I bring your papa back here, you can tell him, and your future brother and sisters all about that pain.”

Noémie pressed play on the video and Marinette shared her last words

“Go to where we had our last battle at 21:00, there you will find the rest of the instructions.I am just a mother longing for her daughter back, but I am also a lady of my word. I just hope and pray that you are a woman of yours”

The video cut off and the room was left in silence.

Noémie checked her watch “Oh my! Only 45 minutes to get there! That’s hardly enough time to get ready”

Hawkmoth found no interest in her petty disputes and started for the door to leave

“Hawkmoth,” she called before he went to far “before you go, I have a question i’ve been itching to ask you”

He turned to face her but she didn’t even shift in her seat

“Where do you go when you leave me?”

Hawkmoth glared “Any reason you’d like to know?”

She shrugged “None at all it’s just, seeing as how we have this relationship-”

“Agreement.”

“Semantics. But, these things take trust and loyalty. So i wanna know, are you working with them?”

A calm and knowingly smirk graced his aging features “Always so wicked and confident, but yet, she has insecurities. Who would hardly think it?”

Noémie rose up from her seat. She sauntered her way over and wrapped her arms around his waist, her chin resting comfortably on his chest as she looked up into his eyes.

They were glazed over in a sense of danger. She was watching his every move.

He was hardly deterred

“You would never betray me? Would you?”

His smirk grew wider “And what would I gain from doing that? You have what I want. Why add on the unneeded risk?”

That seemed to satiate her curiosity as she untangled herself from his waist. She placed her hands on her hips and put on a cheery smile

“Great! Then you’ll have no problem playing the game with me will you?”

He looked at her questioningly “And why would I ever even consider that?”

She giggled “Because if you do” she held out the miraculous for him to see “these will be yours and I’ll be on my merry way”

He scanned her face for any deceit but for the time being she seemed to be telling the truth.

He turned his back on her and strided out the door “20 minutes or I’m leaving you

Noémie stuck out her tongue “Booo, no fair!”

She collected her things and before leaving she left Eloise with what would be her last words

“Be patient Eloise, you’ll soon be free from this pain”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My pooooor Elly baby I promise by the end of this she will have all the stuffed animal and sweets she can handle! (ಥ﹏ಥ). But on the upside there was some adrinette fluff so that should make up for it...right? But one more thing: how do you feel about Eloise's breakdown. Honestly, it made my heart break.


	17. Let the games begin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy fucking shit this chapter is so stupid long it's the longest chapter I've ever done its insane. But part 1 of a climax should always be long AND GOOD so that's why it took so long (That and I got a little side tracked with that one shot I did ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯). REGARDLESS please enjoy this chapter a LOT of shit goes down so you're gonna wanna grab a drink for this one

The sound of heels and designer shoes clacked along the cobble stone. It was quiet, tense, as if everyone was waiting for something unexpected to happen. All the civilians were tucked away in their homes, pressed against their windows to watch whatever spectacle would arise.

The clock tower rung clear throughout the streets

She expected a messenger, someone that, for the time being, she could also hold for ransom. But, out on the streets, there was nothing but the warm nightly air.

That… and a cafe table.

Admittedly if it weren’t for the circumstances it wouldn’t look so out of place. It was maybe waist high, iron cast, and painted in a vibrant pastel pink.

And placed atop its spiral design was a wax stamp letter marked “Mêre de la Mort”

“Aww she thought about me!” La Mêre cooed “Think it’s a trap?”

Hawkmoth scoffed “The girl’s brave, not stupid just retrieve the damn card”

Sticking out her tongue at him teasingly, she picked up the letter, popped it open, and read its contents aloud.

“Depicted here are the 6 individual closest to Eloise’s heart aside from her parents” she read in a mockingly formal voice “On their arm is a yellow bandana marked with white lambs. Obtain all 6 and rendezvous at the construction site before sunrise. Only in that way will you win”

“Cheeky little fucks aren’t they?” She scowled “Making me work till morning”

“Better alternative than working on your knees, isn’t it?”

La Mêre cut her eyes at him but opted not to respond. She continued reading until she came to her final instruction

“Declare your agreement to the terms into the square and the game shall begin”

She sighed, irritated “What kind of dungeons and dragons shit is this?”

Nonetheless, she complied 

“I, Mêre de la Mort, do hereby agree to the terms as they’ve been given. Just be sure to entertain me won’t you?”

***Over in a boarded up shop closeby***

Alya was struggling hard to let go of her babies. She knew they could do it, but the very idea that they could even remotely get her set her mind in circles.

“Mommy’s packed lots of supplies for you ok?” She croaked out “Sammy you have Oreos, cheese sticks, gatorade and fruit snacks. Sophie you have your princess gummies, peanut butter cracker packs, bottle of water and vanilla cookies”

She pulled them in for a bone crushing hug “You two make us so super proud and I promise we’ll all have one big sleepover with Elly ok?”

“Mom?” Sammy said

“Yes, my sweet angel babies?”

“We literally can’t breathe” Sophie finished, voice struggling to come out

Nino finally interjected and pried them from Alya ‘loving’ arms “Alright Mama Wifi that’s enough of that”

Outside, the sound of pointless destruction could be heard

“I’m getting real fucking bored out here!” Noémie warned

Taking a deep breath, Alya gave the twins one final hug and let them get the game underway

“Alya they’ll be ok” Nino soothed, rubbing her back “They’ve lived quite the life before us, there’s no doubt that this is nothing to them”

“Yea I know” She sighed “The flashlights and tasers will definitely keep them safe”

“Yea the-”

….

“Did you just send our kids out with tasers?”

Alya looked both offended and confused simultaneously “Um, I’m sorry do you not want them to have protection?”

Nino just rubbed her back a little harder, his mantra repeating endlessly in his head

‘She is a good mother, she is a good mother, she is a good mother’

It didn’t help really

***Back with the flaming bitch***

La Mêre set yet another trashcan ablaze with one of her explosive cigarette butts

Hawkmoth pinch the bridge of his nose is annoyance “Would you be so kind as to stop setting stupid things on fire?”

“Oh please it’s not like they’ll retaliate” La Mêre laughed

A hefty rock then collided with the side of her head

“Oh look they retaliated” Hawkmoth calmly noted

Clutching her aching head she narrowed her sights onto a pair of nervous, but fearless twins

She would’ve just burned them both into ash if it weren’t for something very special adorned on their arms

She broke out into a sickeningly sweet smile

“My, my, it’s far too dark for such cuties to be out on the streets? Don’t you think so?” She hummed, feigning a motherly tone

Even though Sammy and Sophie were shaking in their light up shoes, they refused to move an inch.

La Mêre approached them slowly, that poisonous grin never slipping from her face

She kneeled down and they could smell the alcohol seeping out of her mouth “You know, I think you can help me and my friend here.”

Sophie began to waver as her foot inched backwards to run, Sammy grasped her hand keeping her anchored and resolute.

“You see, I’m playing a little game with someone, and I need these special little scarves to win. It just so happens that you have exactly what I need”

Her hands slowly smoothed their way down the side of their faces. Her voice came out, no louder than a whisper

“You’ll help a poor mommy like me won’t you?”

**_*SMASH*_ **

Sammy grabbed a brick stored in the side pocket of his bag and slammed it down onto the top of La Mêre’s skull.

She fell face first onto the cobblestoned ground, brain scrambled and nose slightly cracked

The air was thick with shock and anticipation. Never in their entire lives did the twins think they’d ever attack an adult...at least not again anyway.

Even Hawkmoth was decently surprised by the boys nerve

But Sammy was hardly done as La Mêre began to recover and stir awake

“L-like we’d ever hand over our bandanas to a fucking shriveled up cougar bitch like you!”

Back in the shop, Nino was in an incomprehensible mix of emotions. He was appalled by his son’s language, but he also had this mysterious sense of pride welling up inside. He looked to Alya, mouth hung agape in disbelief.

“I allowed him three cuss words, just for tonight” She responded with a calm expression

Let’s just say that mantra wasn’t getting any easier for him to repeat.

La Mêre was now passed the point of just being upset. She rose menacingly to her feet, knuckles cracking in preparation to just wreck anything in sight

Too bad it was the twins that had to face her wrath

Sammy pushed his sister away from him, nearly missing her clawing at their faces

“RUN!” He yelled, dashing down a narrow street

Sophie ran in the opposite direction and La Mêre was faced with a choice

“Go after the girl!” She snarled out at her partner “I want the stupid little bastard that’s brave enough to die today”

“Just try and keep up you dusty cunt!” He called out, picking up the pace

“I guess he was a little eager for this opportunity” Alya commented from behind the shop’s display case.

Oh Nino was definitely gonna get a few gray hairs after this.

 

***Over with the Sophie-Baby***

Hawkmoth was not the runner he used to be. He stretched out his back to relieve some of the built up tension but that low dull ache was not getting better in the least bit.

‘Tweety SO better be worth all this’

He leaned against a brick wall to catch his breath as best he could

“Ok child” He huffed out “I’m positive we’ve put enough distance between us, hand over the bandana so I can prove my allegiance”

Sophie had her back turned to him, and that silence was of no comfort to him

“Not before you prove your allegiance to me first”

Hawkmoth groaned, he SO did not have the time nor energy for this!

“Look, I don’t know if you’re aware of this but time is kind of not on our side here.”

She turned to face him and the look in her eyes gave off a very distinct “I don’t give a fuck” vibe.

He rubbed his temples

“Fuck it, not like I have any deal to upkeep or anything. Go ahead, get on with it”

Sophie gripped onto her shirt tightly, eyes cast toward the ground

“My brother isn’t really smart.” she said “He’s impulsive, cries when he gets to frustrated, and he honestly thinks that he can one day just…save the world like some hero”

Hawkmoth moved to speak but she continued

“But if there’s anything good about my stupid twin brother” She rubbed away her tears briskly “It’s that he’s stupidly loyal. He may not want to admit it to himself yet but, he loves Elly a lot. Enough to even lose his life, luring a complete lunatic to a trap all by himself.”

She took in a deep breath and faced Hawkmoth with fear and confidence flooding her eyes

“You’ve gotten everyone else to trust you, but you won’t fool me! Why? Why after all the pain you’ve cost the city alone, would you all of a sudden grow a heart?”

Hawkmoth’s heart bled for this girl. She had been through tremendous trials in her short life. And yet, all she can think of is her own brother’s safety.

He saw a bit of Marinette in her eyes, strong but not without fear. He couldn’t pander to this girl, there’d be no reason to even try.

He stood before her and bended down to where they were eye to eye. They were equals really, if only for just this moment

“Outside all of these suits and masks,” he began “I actually have a granddaughter of my own. She’s persistent, stubborn and louder than you can imagine”

His mind drifted to their first meeting, how determined she was to get him to smile

“Her parents are no better, constantly doting over her like a fragile egg. Together they all drive me up a wall.”

A sorrowful look danced across his aged features

“But one day, my granddaughter got taken away. It was so sudden that I feared that if I made a single wrong move, she’d be gone forever. Every night, I close my eyes begging to find a way to atone for what I did”

He looked up at sophie with a somber smile

“I suppose, this is a good place to start apologizing”

Sophie untied her bandana and held it out to him, he looked into her eyes to make sure it was ok and she simply smiled and placed it into his hand. He folded it carefully and tucked it into his breast pocket

“You’re a smart five year old, kid”

“It’s Sophie. Just say it right the first time”

Hawkmoth chuckled ‘That’s right, I have to start calling these kids by their names or else I’M the one that gets scolded’

He stood to his full stature and presented a gentleman’s bow of gratitude

“Sophia. I, Hawkmoth, do vow to return both your brother Samuel and friend Eloise to you safe and if i’m lucky, not too loud”

He pulled back his lapel to reveal a little yellow bandana of his own

Sophie gave a knowing smile and he was soon off on his way

La Mêre said that Elly’s pain would soon be over…

He intended to see to it that it would.

* * *

 

This city was gonna burn by the end of the day if La Mêre kept having a shitty night like this

Obviously she had gotten Sammy’s piece of the collection, once the little bastard had run himself to exhaustion he handed it over with just the pleas of leaving him alone. The only reason she hadn’t burned him alive right then and there was because he wanted his death to be right before Eloise’s eyes, just she deserved.

No, the boy didn’t piss her off too badly

His mother though...sent her into an absolute fury.

Alya could not possibly wait to get her part of the game. The moment Marinette explained the plan to her she spent her every waking moment devising something that would make SURE La Mêre remembered her name

“I-I’ve got you now you prick” La Mêre huffed, gripping onto her knees for support

“Yup” Alya responded plainly

La Mêre eyed her suspiciously, “What do you mean, ‘yup’?”

“You’ve clearly got me cornered, why fight?” Alya boredly replied, flicking around on her phone

La Mêre was a little lost, but why look a gift horse in the mouth right? She walked up to her, expecting to just get the bandana and be on her way but alya put up her hand, stopping her in her tracks

“The fuck?” She growled out “Hand over the fucking cloth dammit”

“Not before you say my name”

This shit was getting real old, real fast

“I don’t give a flying donkey shit about your goddamn name, give me the scarf”

Alya wagged her finger in disapproval, not even peering up from her phone as she ‘tsked’ greatly

“That’s a real shame you don’t know” She shrugged “Because until you figure it out you’ll have to deal with them”

“...Them?”

Alya, without ever making an effort, pointed her finely manicured finger up toward the sky.

La Mêre looked up. Lined all along the skyscraper like building were people of all kinds of ages, followers of Alya’s highly successful ladyblog, aiming anything and everything at her. One fatal move and she would be buried under a pile of garbage.

She smoothly walked by her. And right before she had crossed her completely she whispered into her ear

“Say. My. Name, bitch” Her voice was so calm it sent a literal chill down La Mêre’s spine

La Mêre took a chance and swung blindly to wipe the smug smirk off Alya’s face. She smoothly stepped back and snapped her fingers

Just as La Mêre feared, every one of her followers pelted her with anything they could find in their homes. It was something out of a nightmare, shoes, toys, and an ungodly amount of trash was lobbed at her with no remorse. All the while they chanted Alya’s name, cheering her on the whole way.

And it never stopped. No matter where La Mêre chased Alya to, all she had to do was post her latest location on her phone and it was the same song and dance all over again.

She fell along a brick wall in the inky darkness of a back alley. The moon was rising ever quickly and she was running out of time.

Alya seemed to tower over her with the sense of superiority alone. She folded her arms over her chest and stared holes into her head.

“Say my name”

La Mêre was beat and it killed her to know that fact. She balled up her fists in rage and gritted her teeth 

“Alya Cesaire” she spat out

Alya cocked her head to the side in thought, ombre red hair falling over her shoulder. Fairly satisfied with her response, she untied the lamb dotted cloth from her upper arm. 

Alya put her foot on La Mêre’s shoulder and pressed down hard. La Mêre was in a good amount of pain but was admittedly too scared to say a word about it.

“I’m going to give you this, but not because I even remotely think you earned it. I’m giving you this because before the end of tonight you will know what real fear feels like.”

With her foot still firmly pressed into her shoulder, Alya leaned down till their noses were barely touching. Her voice was colder than ice and her hazel eyes held no mercy. If La Mêre didn’t know any better, she’d think she was the real monster

“If I ever, even for a moment, catch you trying to come after my niece again, there will be no god that can save you from me.”

And just like that she just tossed the scarf into her hands carelessly and walked away, leaving a battered and dirtied La Mêre out on the grimy alley floor

She may be fucked up but that girl was the real demon

She stumbled out of the alleyway only to hear the sound of thumping music. Looking across the barren road, she finds a bar letting in people for the night.

Feeling a rush of relief she dashed her way in, barely acknowledging the bouncer’s calls to stop and pay for her entry.

“Give me 5 shots of blueberry vodka and make it quick” She demanded, grabbing the bartender by his collar and giving a rough shake with her one good arm.

She had the tolerance of a university student as she made quick work of the alcohol, not even bothering with a chaser as it numbed the pain in her aching shoulder.

“This is gonna take a fuckton of time to heal” She groaned, head planted on the counter

She pulled out her phone and sent a quick text to Hawkmoth, requesting his current progress

_ *From MaMa Mort* - Heeeey hubby how’s the search going? _

_ *From Hawkmoth* - First, if you ever call me that again, i’ll burn these scarves right here. Also, I have one and am in pursuit of another _

Little did she know though, he was actually busying himself with trying to resist a third world class Tom Dupain-Cheng viennoise au chocolat.

And he was losing...oh so badly

La Mêre clicked off her phone and relaxed in a nearby booth. The music was low and soothing like a high class lounge. It eased her mind enough to lull her into a light snooze

As she creaked her eyes closed, the alcohol slowly hitting her system, she didn’t even notice a certain copper skinned DJ making his way into the booth, 5 year old strapped to his hip.

“Hey man it’s time to step off, I got the next set” The man decked out in way too much neon looked at Nino with an expression of confused disgust

“The fuck you mean!? Look, i worked too hard to-” A 100 Euro bill was thrust into his face.

“Why don’t you buy yourself something strong” He said with a dazzling smile “On me. It’s been a long night I’m sure”

That man didn’t need any more coercion as he took the money and practically skipped his way out of the booth 

“Remember Sophie, never accept a bribe from a stranger”

“Until I check to see if it’s real”

“That’s my hustle princess”

Nino tucked her away safely underneath the mixing stand and put noise cancellation earbuds into her ears. He did the same to his own and checked to make sure they were connected.

“Now sweet pea, daddy’s gonna play some not so appropriate music. You gotta promise not to repeat any of the words you hear”

“As far as I know, I was never here”

“Good girl. Welp, here goes something”

Nino popped up from inside the booth and looked out over the crowd. From across the sea of bored patrons he spotted La Mêre herself, dozing off into the red leather seating.

He smiled ‘Perfect’

He starts off slow, turning off the whack-ass music the previous DJ had set up and starting with something low and cool, sort of a lo-fi hip hop beat. 

Then, ever so gradually, he started switching to faster and more hype songs, all the while making sure to watch to see if La Mêre was waking up. People began gravitating toward the dancefloor, finally having something they can really move to they abandoned their drinks and seats to get their blood pumping.

Now things were really moving, the music was banging, people were starting to sweat from the dancing, it was all Nino had ever dreamed of

And then...right as the music hit it’s apex…

He dropped the beat like he’d touch the sun

La Mêre was ripped out of her seat as the bar was drowned in a sea of bass drops and maddening beats.

Her eardrums were shattered. She attempted to pick herself off the floor but was constantly jostled left and right by drunk, high 20 somethings. The music kept getting louder and louder, she could barely hear herself think much less speak.

She peeled herself off of the floor only to be shoved back into her seat

Not to be defeated she pushed through to her feet

But then one girl got a little too drunk

And La Mêre got a lotta too punched in the face

And that’s when all kinds of hell broke loose

La Mêre ripped a table from its bolted socket and began swinging it wildly in the air. Bouncers attempted to approach her, but one look in that woman’s eyes and they feared that they’d turn to stone immediately.

Her eyes, glazed over from pounding a whole bottle of tequila on the side, settled on the DJ booth. Nino, wanting to make extra sure she was pissed set his speakers up to 11. People scattered for the exits as she harpooned the speaker system from across the room.

Nino made a quick grab for Sophie and leapt out the way, just missing getting speared by a table

“Daddy?” Sophie called, tugging on his sleeve

“Yes sweet pea?”

“I think you’ve made her mad enough now”

He nodded, a bashful smile on his face “Yea, I think so too. Ready to go do the next part for daddy?”

She nodded in agreement and unwound herself from his arms, crawling away behind the now wrecked bar.

La Mêre was busying herself with tearing up the pool table with her boot, when Nino called out to her

“Pardon me miss,” he said “But I’m sure there’s no need for all this rampant violence”

She whipped her head towards him, mouth virtually seething flames, and glared spears into his face. He visibly flinched, but stood his ground

“At least...not for such a pretty lady like yourself”

She raised an eyebrow and climbed down the now smouldering gaming table. He was playing her, that much she knew. Luckily that bandana was the only thing keeping him alive.

“You have my attention boy, keep it and you keep your life”

Nino could feel the cold sweat sliding down his neck

“Well, I’m sure you know that I am admittedly a part of this whole scavenger hunt deal. But, to be frank with you I’m much more interested in something else”

She was intrigued, if only for the moment

“And this something would be?”

He put on a flirtatious smirk “No need to play modest here, I’ve sorta had my eye on you since you first arrived on the scene. All that confidence with all of that body? I just had to get to know you”

Nino wanted to gag with every word that spilled out of his mouth, he could only pray that Alya wasn’t around to hear him. Now that’s a fight he’d just roll over on.

La Mêre had a seductive smile as she paced herself around him for a better inspection, “So, little DJ here is into older women. Do I have that right?”

He shrugged, “I would more prefer the term, experienced. Females my age, they’re still trying to figure out what a blowjob is. I need a woman who knows her way around a bedroom”

She leaned up against his back, breasts pressing softly against his spine. He felt himself regurgitate but kept his cool.

“Well if it’s experience you want, I think I can saddle up to the task”

She tried to make a pass for his more sensitive bits but he cut her off by spinning around to face her.

“Let’s not do it here” She raised an eyebrow in questioning “what I mean is, I’m more of a private type of lover, so, I’d prefer somewhere a little more secluded”

Initially, she thought it was a little weird, but the young ones were always shy so she played it off like no big deal

“Ok then, any ideas”

He let out a sigh of relief “Personally, I’m quite fond of a little “Alley cat” play. That is, if you’re willing”

Her smile widened “Just be careful, this kitty has claws of her own”

He led her out a back door, just barely glancing at Sophie as she busied herself with a lot of alcohol and a very large container. Holding open the door for the ‘lady’, Nino had hoped to see his little girl give him a sign, signal, anything that said he didn’t have to actually go through with this. But sadly, all he saw was her little hand shooing him to get on with it.

‘Oh yea sure just stick me with the most disgusting part of the plan. I didn’t need my innocence anyway it’s super overrated.’ He grimaced

He didn’t have too much time to fret over the situation as La Mêre grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and forced him against a wall

Nino suddenly had a vast amount of respect for women who had to deal with assholes getting too feely with them on a daily basis. La Mêre had her hands on every surface of his skin. All he could do to defend himself was squirm and hope she’d catch the hint...she didn’t.

“Now that I’m getting a good look at your face, you were the one blasting that fucking music weren’t you”

He passed it off with an airy laugh “Had to get your attention somehow. Besides, I think you look most...interesting when you’re mad”

La Mêre’s eyes twinkled with a dangerous, playful look “Nice try, but i’ve had a really shitty day and I need an outlet. So sad to say but I think it’s time for a bit of punishment”

His eyes went as wide as the moon as she smoothly tore open his shirt.

‘IneedanadultIneedanadultIneedanadult!!!!’

She worked her hand down his bare stomach, taking her time and leaving bite marks on his skin. She knelt in front of his jeans and undid his belt buckle.

Her hands froze as the barrel of what felt like a gun was on the back of her head

“I’m gonna need you to take your rotting fingers off my daddy” Sophie said with not a hint of fear

“Oh my god, I’ve never been so happy to adopt, bless jesus” He groaned in relief collapsing against the wall

La Mêre scoffed “Sorry to break it to you honey but your little pea shooter isn’t exactly gonna save the world here”

“Good thing it’s packed with the worst combination of alcohol I could come up with” She tossed a water pistol to Nino and continued

“You just chugged a whole bottle of tequila. So it would be pretty bad if all of a sudden you had a throat full of Natural Light beer, known to, when mixed, induce immediate vomiting”

Nino shoved the barrel of the water pistol upto La Mêre’s lips. She glared fire into Nino’s face “And that only works if I open my mouth, your point?”

Sophie put on a wicked smile “You’ve been cut up pretty bad tonight haven’t you? You must’ve taken at least a couple of scars. In fact, I see a fairly fresh one on the back of your neck. So here’s the deal”

Sophie put another water gun to the back of La Mêre’s neck

“In my hand is a  Nerf Super Soaker Arctic Shock Water Blaster filled to the brim with a special mix I like to call “Satan’s Sip” made of all kinds of nasty stuff I found behind the bar. Now then, either I pull my trigger or my daddy pulls his. Pick your poison”

La  Mêre put up her hands in defeat

“You know it’s been a really, REALLY shitty night and I was trying to play along with the game but you shown me that I’m really no contender for it”

The tension was thicker than lead as no one moved or hardly breathed 

“Sucks that I’ll have to play dirty now!” La Mêre pivoted around on her foot and snatched the gun from Sophie’s hand. 

Nino leapt into action, grabbing La Mêre’s hair and slamming her body onto the ground. The impact was so sudden that it knocked the air out of her lungs, leaving her gasping for breath. Sophie jumped on the opportunity and grabbed the gun back and putting head of the gun into her mouth.

“On behalf of Elly, bottom’s up slut”

Sophie unloaded the whole tank of liquor with no remorse. La Mêre could barely breath, the mixture was rushing down her throat so fast. Everything went blurry as her whole body burned and convulsed.

Not wanting to stay around for the aftermath, Nino grabbed sophie and raced to their next meetup spot. He abruptly picked up his speed as the sound of screaming, curses, and vomiting ganged up on them

“Jesus Christ Sophie what did you put in that water gun!?”

“Oh you know. Rubbing alcohol, hand sanitizer, lemon juice, hot sauce, salt, and any liquor with a warning label on it...there was actually a lot of those”

‘I think my little family is gonna put me into an early grave’

Making it to a local park, Nino skidded to a halt and took a nervous breath. Trust me, he wanted to keep running but the point of this whole mission was to lure La Mêre to various locations. They needed to make sure that she knew where to run, otherwise she’d start destroying the city (more than she already was).

“YOU!!!” She bellowed, another round of bile and ‘Satan’s Sip’ spilling from her mouth

“I-if it’s any consolation, I was never gonna get with you in the first place!”, She roared bloody murder “Oh come on, you’ve met Alya! If I ever cheated on her, not even death could save me!”

Spitting out what remained, La Mêre pulled a cigarette from her chest. Nino stumbled back as she breathed in the smoke until all that was left was a measly nub. She flicked it to the side and with not an ounce of care for what was hit, spat out a massive fireball from her lips.

Nino dove toward a tree and shielded Sophie’s smaller body with his larger one. Hoping to at least shield her from some of the pain he squeezed his eyes shut and expected the worse.

Moments passed with no impact. He thought he just died and creaked open his eyes. He was never so happy to just see his daughter and grass, beautiful, sweet smelling grass.

“Baby, are you ok!” He said, checking all over her body for scars

She laughed, batting away his hands “Yes daddy, I’m fine! Elly’s grandma saved us”

He was so confused ‘Her grandma?’. He turned his head and there she was, Sabine Dupain-Cheng, local baker, was standing in front of them, loving smile and all

“Are either of you hurt?” She asked. They both shook their heads in response.

She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled “That’s a relief. Now Nino, may I have your scarf. I’ll hold her off while you two escape.”

She didn’t need to tell him twice. Nino quickly untied his bandana and handed it over. Thanking her profusely, they ran off, hoping to never have to do this again.

“Oh what the fuck now!” La Mêre seethed. Sabine straightened her posture and approached her, a serious and resolute expression on her face

“Oh what, now I have to fight this 70 year old Street Fighter reject? Give me a fucking break here” Sabine remained mute as she readied her fighter stance.

She stumbled, however, as a blaring screech hit her ear drum

“MOM! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!?” Marinette had been decently silent through this whole operation, staying out of sight with Adrien and following everyone’s progress. She did not, however, agree to having her mother having a stand-off with paris’ most dangerous and psychopathic terrorist.

“Following the plan dear, what does it look like?” Sabine responded. Marinette pinched the bridge of her nose

“The plan, mother dearest, was to lure. NOT to dress in you finest Tangzhuang and fight”

She wanted her to just run and leave it be, but Sabine refused to back down, arguing that this was a matter of honor amongst the Dupain-Cheng family. The argument got so heated, in fact, that it soon spiraled into pure, unaccented Mandarin. Even Adrien was able to pick up pieces of the debate (though he’d rather not repeat them).

“Fine Ma!” Marinette huffed out “Do whatever! Just...watch yourself ok?”

Adrien put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder “Hey, I know you’re worried but everything will be fine! I’m sure your mom is probably tougher than she looks”

What he did not expect though, was the confused look on Marinette’s face. You know, the one that just screams “What in the holy fuck are you talking about?”

“What? Oh i’m not worried about HER”

“...huh?”

La Mêre bursted into attack, feeling utterly irate and ignored. She balled up her fist in plans for a clean shot to the face. Sabine smoothly took hold of her fist and pinned her arm behind her back, jabbing her fingers onto the back of her neck. Shoving her away, La Mêre stumbled against a tree, gripping her neck in pain

“Mari?”

“Yea?”

“Your mom’s a baker right?”

“Has been since before I was born”

Sabine decided to take the initiative and unwound a chinese rope dart from her waist. Wrapping it tightly around her wrist, she spun it rapidly, watching her opponent with a laser like vision. La Mêre moved to rush her again. Sabine flung the dart, keeping her at bay. No matter how many times she tried to advance, the threat of the obsidian dart kept her from moving.

Adrien could not form comprehensible sounds, much less words of a known language

And then it hit her

“Adrien, you didn’t actually think my use of the yoyo came NATURALLY did you? You told me yourself that your fighting style came from fencing training”

“How was I supposed to know that your mom was a martial arts master...AND WHY THE HELL IS YOUR MOM A MARTIAL ARTS MASTER!?!?”

Marinette was in hysterics at his facial expressions “Before my parents met, my mom was already a 6 time master in Chanquan-Wushu, specializing in the rope dart. Fun fact, she was actually training Elly for a while”

Adrien gawked at her incredulously “Oh calm down! It was just some self defense movements, in case of a bully or something. Nothing with the rope dart ~~i don’t think~~ ”

He ran his hands through his hair, yes his daughter was learning a few martial arts moves, no big deal! Everyone needs to learn self defense!

“Oh and when my dad used to live in America he became a massive pro-wrestling star, everyone called him “The One Stop Shop”. You should have seen him showing off all his old takedowns to Elly, she looked like she was having so much fun….Uh Adrien you ok?”

A ghost was more tan than him right now.

“I guess I also shouldn’t tell you that I was already a 4 time advanced black belt in Northern Shaolin kung fu with a specialization in praying lotus style by the time i hit 16 huh?”

If Adrien Agreste learned nothing else on this night, he learned this lesson...fuck with this family if you want to...you’ll never make it

La Mêre was receiving her 5th beatdown by the time she finally gave up. She thought she could catch Sabine off guard by grabbing the dart before it hit her face. They got into a tug of war over the dart and she thought she might’ve actually won something. Too bad that was all sabine needed before winding the rope around her foot and stomping it downward, colliding La Mêre’s face with the ground for the umpteenth time.

“Mom, I think you got your point across” Marinette spoke into her earpiece

Feeling decently satisfied with her work, Sabine agree and relented on her attack. She undid her own bandana and carelessly threw them on top of La Mêre’s silent body.

“An interesting tidbit for you” She spoke into her ear “Back in my younger days I was known as the serpent’s bite. You come for my family again and you can get an in depth lesson as to why”

And she left her there, battered and bruised with not even a second thought

“Ugh she went overboard again” Marinette groaned

She had expected them to be stuck in their little hideout for a while, the woman did just contract multiple blows to her pressure points. Hell who knows, she might even be knocked out till morning! Wouldn’t that be a lucky break.

But their hopeful peace was short lived.

Wisps of ashy gray floated toward the night sky as a strangled cackle ripped through the warm air.

“You know...tonight’s been fun”

Marinette and Adrien’s blood ran icy cold. La Mêre sat up, blood dripping down her mouth

“Got some exercise in, listened to some music, hell even had a drink or two”

Adrien grabbed onto Marinette’s hand tightly as the beaten woman lumbered onto her feet, hair matted and filthy

“And to be honest I really wanted to just...win, you know? Earn Elly relatively fair and square”

Their hearts was beating out of their chests, they couldn’t be sure what to do, she was just too unpredictable

“But if this is how you’re gonna play the game, then don’t be too mad when I join in the fun”

It all became far too painfully clear

There was only one thing they could do…

“When you see Elly’s father, tell him I said hi”

**_RUN!!!_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAHHHHHHHHH ALL THE THINGS WERE GOING SO MASSIVELY WELL AND THEN SHE JUST SAID "FUCK THAT SHIT I'M BURNING THIS WHOLE BITCH TO THE GROUND" I'm so mean...but you knew that already ٩(⁎❛ᴗ❛⁎)۶. But now you gotta tell me this WHO WAS YOUR FAVORITE BATTLE AGAINST LA MÊRE? If I honestly had to pick it would have to be Nino and Sophie and then Sabine cause who doesn't love wushu grandma? Also I just adore the idea of gabe and tom just sitting around being happy grandpas. Oh and my heart utterly bleeds for sophie, the baby just wants her brother and best friend to be safe (;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`). Ok I'm done rambling, I'm gonna shove pancakes down my gullet now


	18. Rain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UUUUUUGH this chapter took a lot outta me. I'm so happy that I wrote it and that you guys can read it but I genuinely cried MULTIPLE TIMES during this chapter so if that's any warning for whats about to go down let me say it in my best Kevin Hart impression *ahem* IT'S ABOUT. TO GO. DOWN. You know what one punch man does with villains? Yea, I'm about to do that with your feels soooooo...enjoy!
> 
> PS: depiction of child abuse is present so just wanna preface that now so no one who could have trauma from it is caught off guard

Soft humming floated through the cold and hollow room

“Hehe mama looks super pretty with all the seashells!” Elly giggled to herself quietly “Oooo wouldn’t it be super fun to go the beach one day? Just Me, mama and….”

Eloise’s words died on her tongue. She knew who she wanted to go to the beach with her, in fact he’s been the only one missing in all the drawings she’s made since that video was released

“Papa” she whispered quietly, more as a plea for forgiveness than anything else

_“Why should I? It’s not like we can’t just make one ourselves”_

Eloise threw her crayons and paper across the spacious cage. She tried everything to burn those words from her mind but they just kept coming back, teasing her, burning her with the reminder that no matter where she went, no matter who told her that they cared she would ALWAYS be standing alone.

She slumped further against the wall until she was staring straight at the ceiling. Her stomach growled and she gripped at her shirt.

“I’m hungry again” She laughed bitterly “Guess I’m always meant to feel this way, just like back then”

* * *

 Elly’s eyes were glued to the TV screen. Ladybug had just beaten off another villain’s henchman and was going for the big bad with her trusted partner Chat Noir.

She’s looked so graceful gliding left and right, dodging every attack thrown her way. And Chat Noir himself was so super cool when he used his baton as different things. They were Eloise’s absolute icons and she could only dream of one day meeting them for even a moment. They’re flashy costumes, their colorful cast of baddies to defeat, ahh a 4 year old girl could dream right?

Sadly, her dream began to lose it’s color as she looked at herself in the front door mirror. Her clothes were nothing more than a shabby and grimey dress that was once a pastel yellow but soon degraded to a dirty mustard brown. Her hair was filthy and her skin was a bad mix of bruises and dirt marks. She frowned deeply.

“Why would I ever think that someone would want to meet a dirty brat like me” She mumbled “All they’d see is all this dirt anyway”

Her eyes gravitated back toward the TV. She watched their shiny and clean world, void of any real pain or heartache and just sighed. She may not ever get to meet her heroes but one day, when she’s grown old enough to leave this place, she’ll leave her world behind and like in a place that’s colorful like the ones on TV.

“TURN THAT FUCKING TV OFF!!!” Noémie’s vicious yell could be heard all over the apartment building. Ellie fumbled for the remote and quickly turn the volume to mute

A few minutes passed and the voice came out far more pained “El, get the fuck in here, now.”

Eloise look toward the window pane, clouded with dirt. She didn’t think her heart could deflate any further.

Rain. And lots of it.

A weatherman’s nightmare was unfolding outside. Heavy, dark gray clouds blanketed the sky and had opened the floodgates on Eloise’s relatively quiet day. Eloise picked at her hair nervously. It was days like this that she wanted to run away the most. She knew her mother would be stuck inside all day, what with no one wanting to go and party on such a drab afternoon. So she spent her time making Eloise run errands and just generally terrorize the hell out of her.

“I SAID NOW!” her voice bit through the air and Eloise came running.

She inched in her way to her mother’s bedside, barely making a sound. Her face was buried in the pillows, flattened from continuously late night ‘activities’. But even if Eloise couldn’t see her face she dared not come a step closer for fear of having her arm grabbed and twisted behind her back till it grew purple like last time.

“Ellllll” she whined out, gripping the sheets and flopping over in bed “Mommy had too much fun last night and now has a fucking headache”

She steered her eyes to Eloise’s matching blue ones and smiled something of a mother’s smile. Eloise didn’t like it, it sent a cold shock down her spine.

“Come to mommy” She said, sitting up and holding out her arms. Eloise complied silently and climbed onto the bed, allowing herself to be wrapped in her mother’s embrace

Noémie rubbed her face along Eloise’s hair, lazily combing her fingers through it and wallowing in the thick silence. “My sweet, pretty girl. I love you soo much” she sighed in content

Eloise couldn’t stand this part of her morning routine. Her mother would wake up and whine about her hangover, then treat her like some stuffed animal, rubbing her body all over her and run her fingers through her matted hair. And every time, no matter what she did…

The smell of booze and cigarettes stuck to her like shackles

Noémie had been stroking her hair for a while when she took notice on how Eloise’s chest moved. First, nothing, then out of nowhere it would huff 3 times, breathing in deep for the third, then back to barely any movement at all

1, 2, 3, still. Over and over, like it was rehearsed.

Noémie narrowed her sights

_She was holding her breath_

Eloise had learned how to keep from breathing in her smell. As long as she paced out her breathing and held her breath she’d only have to smell it a few times. It left her gasping for what open air she could find but it was better than the alternative.

Noémie slammed her fist against Eloise’s stomach, ripping the breath from her body, toppling her over. She kicked her off the bed and ground her heel into her side

“You think I smell bad? Huh!?”

Eloise cried out in pain but Noémie’s vicious yelling was 10 times louder

“Who gives a fuck what you think of me? I am your mother, and without me you’d be smelling the shit out on the streets!”

She took 10 euros from the nightstand drawer and threw it down “Go get me some pain pills and cigarettes! It’s the least you could do for bashing me like you own this place”

Eloise weakly grabbed the crumpled bill and ran out the room

“And El?”

She froze in the doorframe, too terrified to make another step

“You come back with anything other than my pills and cigs? And I’ll hang you in the closet by your shitty blonde hair”

Eloise ran out in the rain with nothing more than the shoes on her feet, not even bothering with an umbrella or jacket

Some time went by before she actually made it to a store. All the other shops were closed from the rain but she had managed to find one still in operation.

She steeled her nerves, taking in a deep breath before walking through the front door, mind focused on just getting what she was told and going home.

The clerk, named paul, could not take his eyes off her. What on earth was a child doing all alone in the pouring rain? And with no umbrella or jacket no less! He assumed that she might’ve just been just some homeless child taking in some shelter but something in him said otherwise. He wasn’t sure what her story was but maybe she was in need of a happy ending?

“Can I help you find something” He called out to her. She froze in shock but stayed ultimately silent, shaking her head. It took some doing but eventually she did find what she was looking for, a little white bottle marked with a green cross. She’s got the medicine, but now comes the hard part…

Buying the cigarettes

Eloise approaches the counter, but can barely reach to place it down. Paul meets her halfway and in a moment, their eyes meet. She retracts instantly, attempting to make herself invisible and keep it moving, but paul knows better. He’s seen that look in the eyes of people around town before. That look of abject fear and despair.

“Alright kid who are the pills for?” she cast her eyes to the white linoleum floor

“Where are you going?” Still nothing

“Do you even have a home” That got her to flinch, but not a sound escaped her lips

Paul sighed, he couldn’t reach her, the best thing he could do now was to just make sure she had what she came for

“Fine, will that be all for you kid?”

“Cigarettes”

It was the first words she had said all day. He looked at her incredulously.

“W-what’d you say?”

Her voice came out a little stronger this time “Cigarettes, the blue box please!”

Paul ran his fingers through his hair “Kid, I can’t in good conscious give you these cigarettes, you’re like 4!”

But Eloise couldn’t give in “Please, they’re not for me! They’re for someone else”

“And who might that be?”

She averted her gaze and fell silent again

The air was thick with tension and uncertainty. Neither moved, no one spoke. It felt like one wrong misstep and something would come crashing down. It was a battle of wills.

_*growl*_

A battle that a four year old had business of winning.

Eloise flushed bright red as the young cashier snickered at her. She hadn’t really eaten all day, what was he to expect!

“Sounds like someone’s in need of a snack huh?” What little pride Eloise did have was being put into ignoring the man’s teasing

“Come on” he coaxed, coming around the counter to her “I know you must craving one of these”

The heavenly scent of strawberries and lemons hit her nose like bruce lee’s one inch punch. Paul was holding a perfectly wrapped strawberry lemonade candy right before her eyes. It was so sweet that her mouth began to drool in want. Her defenses crumbled and she reach out for it, just barely brushing her fingertips against its sticky sweetness before Paul held it at an impossible length for her to reach.

“Ah ah, hold it right there squirt. Look, you want food...and cigarettes for whatever reason, and I want some answers. So here’s the deal my wife and I live right upstairs, answer some questions and you can walk away with a full belly and what you came for, deal?”

He held out his open hand. Eloise had no reason to trust him but he seemed different somehow, like he actually wanted to help her. Plus, she needed those cigarettes. So, taking a leap of unimaginable faith, Eloise shook Paul’s hand.

A goofy grin broke out onto his face. It was so different from the sneering frown she’d grown used to that she couldn’t help but smile in return.

He gathered her up in his arms and tossed her the candy “So let’s start simple. What’s your name”

“Eloise” She said through stuffed cheeks

“Hmm that’s a pretty name” Paul’s face twisted into an expression of deep thought, then satisfaction “But how about we call you Goldilocks for now?”

She didn’t really know what that name meant, only being called “Waste of space” and “Abomination” before, but it sounded warm and kind so she just went with it.

Paul brought the golden haired toddler up a side of stairs and into a cozy little apartment where his wife, Lucy, was busy making something that made Eloise’s mouth water more than the candy did.

“Paul, you didn’t bring another cat home, did you?” She said, mind focused on not burning herself on the oven racks “I meant what I said. I don’t want to clean up anymore rat remains”

Paul scratched the black hairs on the back of his neck “No it’s uh not a cat...it’s a bit...bigger”

Lucy emerged from the kitchen, Red hair done up in a bun and her expression a mix of caution and confusion. She spotted tiny, dirtied Eloise and gasped

“Oh my god, Paul! What is the matter with you!?” Eloise set her eyes to the floor. It was just as her mother said, no one wants a dirty brat like her.

What she didn’t expect, however, was to be instantly wrapped up into Lucy arms and whisked to the bathtub.

“The poor thing looks absolutely starving! Why didn’t you bring her in sooner?” All she could do was blink as she watched steaming hot water flow into the tub

“Aw cut me a break Lulu! I had to make sure she wasn’t gonna rob the shop” That excuse did not go over well as Paul was smacked over the head with a rolled up newspaper.

“You dumbass!” She quickly apologized to Eloise and fixed her vocabulary “You nitwit! She looks like she barely walk ten feet much less rob the store!”

And for the first time, legitimately the very first time in her whole life, Eloise laughed. It started small like a giggle but then erupted into a sound that came deep from within her empty belly. It felt so good and was so contagious that it made Paul and Lucy laugh too. She had never felt this emotion before, she thinks it was called ‘joy’ or something, but it was one that she would try to forever cherish.

In fact, Eloise spent a lot of time experiencing things for the first time. Her first real bath, her first hot meal (lasagna, her self proclaimed ‘favorite’), and even got to wear a whole new set of clothes (Lucy said they were just some of her old hand-me-downs, but she didn’t know what that meant so it was all new to her). It was the happiest few hours she’d ever experienced in her short little life and they would stick with her for as long as she drew breath from this earth.

Sadly, just as the sun rises, it also sets and before Eloise had a moment to consider what she’d really done the moon was already casting its glow. The little cuckoo clock on the wall sang its macabre song.

9 o’clock at night

Time for all little girls and boys to be tucked into bed. Kissed on the head and read a bedtime story.

But for Eloise it was a dark and grim reminder to go back to the dark place she was forced to call home

“Eloise honey” Lucy said, her voice coaxed in concern “I can tell that you’re scared to go home...would you like to stay here?”

A chance! A glimmer of light that she could hold onto! Maybe if Eloise stayed with them then she could be free of all that pain. It would be so easy, it’s not like she had anything to really return to anyway. She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again leaving her arms heavy at her sides.

Who was she fooling?

She can’t escape that monster. It was her mother after all, and no matter where she ran she’d find her. Sniff out the slightest drop of blood and snap her jaws for the kill. No, she had to go back, not for her safety, but for theirs.

She declined the offer and just asked for the things she came to get. It pained her to see the concern in their eyes but she couldn’t risk them being caught up in her troubles. They’d be constantly hunted and they were too kind to her for that.

They walked her down to the shop’s front door and gathered her some things. Snacks, juices, candies from each shelf. They even insisted that she take the money she gave them back. Eloise wanted nothing more than to sob and cry her heart out but she swallowed back the tears, keeping a cheery smile of her soft face.

“Are you sure you don’t want us to walk you back?” Paul inquired for the 3rd time.

Eloise nodded her head “I’m sure! I know the way”

She turned toward the door but a warm, slender hand stopped her. Lucy searched her eyes for any kind of help, but could find nothing. Sighing, she knelt down to Eloise’s level and put on a sorrowful smile.

“Here my dear” she said, reaching for something behind her back.

It was a small pink rabbit no taller than maybe a foot long. Eloise smiled softly at its soft fur and silk bows on each ear.

“This was mine when I was a little girl. I named it Jegudiel, after the angel of responsibility and merciful love.” Lucy wiped away her tears as she spoke “Eloise, I don’t know where you’re going and I don’t know if I’ll ever see you again, but, I just hope and pray that this will help keep you safe”

Eloise’s heart could take no more. She dove into Lucy’s arms and held her tight wanting to remember this warmth for a second more.

“I’ll come back!” She declared “I swear, i’ll come back and we can have that lasagna again a-and it’ll be really really good!”

Tears streamed down both Lucy and Paul’s face

“Guess I’ll have to make sure to get myself over to the store then!”

Eloise looked at their bright faces and felt a renewed energy

That would be the last time she ever saw them again

Darkness. Never-ending and suffocating darkness. That was all she felt walking up the apartment stairwell. It didn’t matter what she told that horrid beast she was forced to call mother, she would be beaten and she may lose her life.

She quietly opened the door to the apartment, clutching Jegudiel close to her erratic heart. She undid her shoes and tiptoed into the living room. None of the lights were on and the place was utterly silent. Eloise breathed a silent sigh of hope. She may not be cleared but at least she could sleep in peace tonight. She gave Jegudiel a quiet thank you, he was proving to be more of a good luck charm than he thought.

**_*CRASH*_ **

A beer bottle exploded on the living room wall, spilling liquid and glass all over the floor

“OH so noooow the privileged little princess decides to grace us SLAVES with her presence” Noémie’s voice was far beyond slurred as she stumbled into the blackened living room, somehow tripping just enough to turn on the lights.

“So where were you huh?” She said gripping onto a fist of Eloise’s freshly washed hair “Off having a fun night out while your SICK mother lays in bed DROWNING in pain?”

Eloise pushed against her hand to let go but Noémie was far too strong. She was roughly tossed onto the floor, falling onto the broken glass causing deep cuts all over her skin.

The plastic bag fell from her hand, its contents spreading everywhere. Noémie picked up the cigarettes, pills, and a bag of chips “So now you’re going around spending my money on stupid shit? You’re awfully brave tonight aren’t you?”

Eloise screwed her eyes shut, gripping onto Jegudiel and praying that her mother gives up quickly.

“Huh? Where’d you get the rabbit from El?”

Her eyes shot open but her mouth stayed tightly zipped as she cowered against the couch. She held on tighter the Jegudiel pastel pink fur.

“In fact” Noémie grabbed hold of her ankle and held her upside down “I didn’t buy you these clothes”

Noémie shook Eloise violently, leaving her with a rushing headache “You got a little friend, huh? Giving you all these fucking presents?”

She dropped her back onto the hardwood floor and ran her into a corner “That little friend must be real nice to you huh? Giving you gifts, telling you how pretty you are, saying that if you just put on all these nice things you’ll look just like a model”

Jegudiel was suddenly ripped from her hands as Noémie held it in a vice like grip “But then that friends gets closer and closer until oops” She forced Eloise down, banging her back against the cold floor “You’re left with a fucking MISTAKE like you! And you think he’s gonna be there for you; that you’re gonna just be one big happy family. Until, second oops, he’s lying there dead on your couch from a fucking coke overdose”

“PAUL AND LUCY AREN’T LIKE YOU!”

The banging stopped, the room fell silent

“They gave me a bath, they fed me Lasagna, they told me that they loved me and MEANT IT!” Eloise could feel her voice going hoarse from all the screaming “THEY COULD NEVER BE A MONSTER LIKE YOU!”

She slapped her hands over her mouth, eyes widened in fear

“Monster?”

Noémie lumbered up to her full height, towering over the tiny girl

“Yea, I think that might be the first useful thing to come out of your fucking mouth”

She gripped Jegudiel by his two floppy ears in one hand and his body in another

“So for that here is my thanks”

Eloise threw her whole body into Noémie’s legs, toppling her over and bringing her crashing into the ground

“You fucking bitch” she screamed “Let go of me!”

She held on tight, digging her nails into her calf. “Give him back!” She yelled “He’s mine and belongs with me”

“You don’t own shit!” Noémie began kicking and beating on Eloise’s back to get her off “As long as you live you will NEVER have ANYTHING in this world. Because you are worthless, ugly and a ABOMINATION on this earth!”

Eloise could take no more beatings, she could take no more put downs, no more neglect, no more abuse.

She bit down on Noémie’s leg, sinking her teeth until it broke skin and blood leaked into her mouth.

Noémie roared bloody murder, releasing Jegudiel and clutching her wounded leg. Eloise grabbed the stuffed doll and dashed into the kitchen cabinet, grabbing the biggest liquor bottle she could find and gripping it by the neck.

Her mind was racing with voices all telling her different things. She wanted to run, she wanted to scream, she wanted all of this to be over.

But more than anything, she just wanted to be back with Paul and Lucy in their little apartment atop the local convenience store.

The rugged sound of heavy footsteps stomped all along the apartment; shattering glass and knocked over furniture tore through the air.

The footsteps stopped in front of the sink, Eloise couldn’t breath.

Noémie practically ripped the door straight off its hinges from the handle alone “So this is where you’ve been my precious little error”

Eloise screamed as loud as she could and thrashed around as Noémie dragged her out of the cabinet and held her by her hair.

“Oh I’m gonna make sure you always remember this night because I think tonight you might just die”

The voices were screaming too loud in her head, it was all too confusing. _You have to escape; She’s going to kill you; Kick harder!_

The voices suddenly went silent as one rang out clear

_Swing Eloise. Swing with all your heart_

She knew that voice. It was warm and inviting like a fresh meal. It was kind and gentle as if it were a warm bath. It was Lucy’s voice, giving her the blessing to be free.

Eloise stopped her tears and hoisted the heavy bottle over her shoulder. Noémie cackled harshly “You’ll never do it. And do you know why? Because you are my child and you’d never be stupid enough to hurt your _MOMMY”_

Hell if she will!

A scream

A crash of shattering glass

the sound of two bodies hitting the floor

And all at once, silence

Eloise’s knuckles had turned a ghostly shade of white from gripping only the neck of the bottle. Her breathing labored and her hair pressed flat to her forehead, slick with sweat. But the deed was done and for the first time since coming from the store, she was ok.

Until she started feeling a gross, wet liquid pool at her feet. Eloise looked down, her eyes needing to clear away the tunnel vision she’d felt, and shrieked the loudest she’d ever screamed. All around her was the blood of her own mother, knocked out and most likely in a coma from one smash of the bottle on her head. Eloise covered her mouth in terror, losing control of her stomach and vomiting incessantly

Someone would find this! Someone was going to burst through that door any minute and find her mother’s lifeless body. Her heart rate skyrocketed as her mind raced for any way out. She couldn’t risk being caught like this. If she did she’d go away to someplace dark and never see her freedom again!

The voice came again, but it was deep and robust

_Run Eloise, you can’t be here anymore. Just run as fast as you can and don’t for a moment look back._

It was Paul this time, coaxing her out of the apartment like he did with the candy. This was her chance and she refused to let it pass her by.

She grabbed Jegudiel from under the sink, swung open the door and ran as fast as her frail little legs could take her into the pouring rain.

Even as her clothes grew wet and heavy her heart swelled with a new emotion, this time she was sure it was called “relief”. She was finally free! Free to be with Paul and Lucy, the only people who have ever loved her. Free to run wherever she pleased. She was no one’s mistake, no one’s burden. The feeling made her so happy that she erupted into boundless laughter, skipping down the street with not a care in the world.

But abuse is never something you can just ‘run away’ from and as her feet carried her farther and farther from the hell she once called home the shadowy shackles around her feet kept slowed her pace. Her lighthearted skipping was reduced to barely a slow lumber, the true weight of her actions pressing down on her shoulders.

She stopped in front of the convenience store with its lights turned off and the metal gate pulled down for the night. She stood out there in the rain, staring up at the bright red lettering as if it were going to give her an answer. Eloise closed her eyes and listened close, praying that the voice of Paul and Lucy would come and welcome her to a new home and that all she had to do was knock and ask for a lemon candy.

The sound of rain was all that she could hear, she couldn’t even rely on her usual voices for comfort.

Her head hung low as her gaze settled on the little black dots that made up Jegudiel eyes. He was torn and dirtied, pieces of red dyed fluff peeking out of his neck. She had been the one to bring him there. Had she left him where he belonged, he wouldn’t be left in her arms, a tattered mess of fabric.

“Where he belonged” She whispered to herself, chuckling cynically “Wouldn’t that be nice to have?”

Tears blended with the warm summer’s rain cascaded down Eloise’s face. She propped him up under the overhang and against the front door, fixing his ears so that he’d at least look presentable to his adoring parents when they found him. She left a kiss on the tip of his nose and walked away, never for a moment looking back.

And so, she left. Eloise Etienne, a child no older than 4 walked away from her old home, her new home and everything she had ever come to know. Her feet would ache from the lack of shoes and she was sure to catch a cold any moment from now. Her stomach whined pitifully and she looked up into the falling rain.

“I’m hungry” she said, wishing that the storm would just sweep her away

* * *

 

Eloise reached out her hand to the gray detailed ceiling. Same dirt, same cage, different place.

“There really is nowhere I belong is there?” She asked to the bars, enclosed around her.

She sat up on the floor and looked down at all the drawing she’d made. Sammy, Sophie, Alya, Nino, even her grandparents. Would any of them even miss her if she disappeared.

Her fingers smoothed over the first drawing she made when she arrived here. It was her, Adrien and Marinette all done up in their finest under a big pink tree. She wondered something that she never thought she would.

Would they even care if she disappeared?

Her heart felt so tight, as if it were going to explode at any moment. She slammed her fist against the bars and fell to her knees.

“Well maybe I should!” she found herself yelling to no one but herself “Maybe...maybe if I just disappeared, no one would have to be in pain anymore.”

“Now that’s not a very nice thing to say”

Pink

Tons of pink mixed with a dash of yellow was pressed to her face. It was soft like an animal’s fur and, for a moment, she thought Jegudiel had actually come to save her. She tried to push the stuffed doll away but it kept being pushed back into her line of sight.

“If you went away” said the voice in a falsetto tone “Everyone would be really sad, especially your mama and papa, they would never stop missing you”

As cute as the stuffed animal was, she was starting to grow annoyed with its forceful behavior. Eloise batted the toy away, watching as it sailed across the sky and squeaked along the floor.

“What do you know!” She snapped “Who would ever miss a nobody orphan that lived on the streets!”

“I would”

Eloise whipped her head to the source of the voice ready to scream her heart out at them. But all words failed her as she came face to face with Hawkmoth himself, a smug smile plastered over his masked face.

It was supposed to be this big sweeping moment. Tears would be shed, she would leap into her arms, just this beautiful reunion.

What Hawkmoth got instead, however, was a five year old toddler looking at him like he just said that he really relates with french people.

“Um Mr. Hawkmoth, you see me all the time. Why would you miss me?”

He chuckled embarrassedly “I suppose this disguise does work a little too well doesn’t it?”

Eloise shielded her eyes from the blinding purple light that engulfed the room

“Well then how about this?”

She was at a loss for words. She had so much to say. Why here, why now, what is happening. But none of those things mattered right now because kneeling in front of her very eyes was her grandfather wish graying hair and open arms.

Her heart burst with joy as she ran into his open arms. Their embrace was so warm she feared, for a moment, that she might melt. But she couldn’t care less. She was where she belonged, here in the arms of a man who truly loved her.

“I missed you YeYe” She whispered in a shaky tone

“I did too tweety” he replied, kissing her hair “and I am so so sorry this happened to you. If I knew that that wretched witch was going to do this I would have NEVER…”

“YeYe”

“And I mean you I couldn’t just reveal myself right then cause who knows what she could’ve done to you…”

“YeYe”

“Oh but you were just so sad looking and broken my heart just ached for you so I HAD to-”

She slapped her hands over over Gabriel’s mouth with a laugh

“YEYE! It’s ok. I’M ok.” She slipped her arms back around his neck and nuzzled into his warmth as best she could “Who you were as the dragon king is not who you are now. You came back for me, you said that you’d miss me if I was gone. That’s all I really need”

Gabriel sighed, rubbing her back in comfort. She had been through so much; and all before the age of six. He’d love to let her sleep but, sadly, there was work to be done.

He grabbed the small bag of miraculous and tucked it into his suit pocket

“It’s time to go home tweety, your parents are waiting for you”

“W-wait!” Eloise jolted to attention and gripped at his jacket

He stared at her curiously but quickly understood as he saw the hesitation in her soft green eyes.

“You can’t be sure that your father wants to even see you, can you?”

Her eyes fixated on his tie was all the confirmation he needed

Pulling out a cellphone from his pocket, hawkmoth dialed in a number and put the sound on speaker

“I am hawkmoth, understand?” She didn’t know what he meant but nodded in agreement.

The phone rang for a while and suddenly clicked. A panicked voice and the booming sound of an explosion poured out from the tiny device.

“What the fuck do you want Hawkmoth!?” Adrien said, dropping his usual child friendly tone of speech

“I was just calling to check on your progress, and such language is not befitting a role-model like hero”

“My foot up your ass will be really unfitting for a hero if you don’t get here with my daughter!”

“Oh goodness, such vulgarity. Tell me, what do you think about such language Eloise”

The phone went silent and Eloise gaped her mouth like a fish.

“E-elly” his voice wavering as if he feared it might not be her

She wanted to let the tears fall but forced herself to speak instead “H-hi papa, i miss you”

Adrien erupted in a flurry of relief and concern “OH MY GOD ELLY! MY SUNSHINE! ARE YOU OK? ARE YOU HURT? OH GEEZ I’M SO SORRY YOU HAD TO HEAR ME SAY ALL THAT STUFF. LISTEN, THOSE WORDS ARE NOT FOR PROPER LADIES LIKE YOURSELF SO MAKE SURE YOU NEVER EVER SAY THEM OK?”

Elly could not begin to understand the feelings that flooded her heart. Joy, excitement, comfort, it was all too wonderful to describe with her limited vocabulary. Adrien babbled on and on about how sorry he was for what he said and how he would always love her no matter what her past may have been. He even let Marinette take the phone and go on her “holy jesus is my baby alive” rant

“Papa?” she said, her voice hiccuping and throat aching from the lump that was starting to form

“Yes sunshine?”

“If I ever went away, would you miss me?”

He chuckled over the phone, this shouldn’t even be considered a question for him

“I’ve missed you since the moment you left my sight and I won’t stop missing you until back in my arms again. Elly?”

“Yes Papa?”

“Did you cry while we were apart?”

Elly roughly wiped at her eyes “No papa, I’ve been good”

She could feel the smile on his face from the other side of the phone

“I knew you would be baby”

They said their goodbyes and hung up the phone. Before the phone call, Eloise felt so tired that she thought she could sleep for days. But now, she wanted nothing more than hold her mama and papa for all she was worth.

She tugged at Hawkmoth’s jacket for the last time “YeYe?”

A simple “Hm?” was all he said

“I’d like to go home now please”

He made sure she was gripped tightly to his jacket and smiled down at her

“I think I’d like that too"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHHHHH MY SWEET LEMONADE BABY YOU'RE FREE AFTER HAVING SUCH A TERRIBLE PAST I DON'T KNOW HOW TO FEEEEEEL. I really do hope some of you cried cause this was emotional to me. Eloise feels like my baby so all this sadness in her life just makes me sad. So just hit me with those feel I have to know whether or not I'm alone on this.


	19. Bittersweet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is late...stupid stupid STUPID late. But I also moved home from my first year of college, Reorganized my room, got my car fixed, saved the world IT WAS A LOT OK!?!? But more so than that this chapter was such a labor of love every moment I opened it up to write I spent more time editing and re-editing to make sure it flowed with purpose. SO enough babbling I really hope you enjoy this cause lord all mighty....IT'S A DOOSY

Marinette and Adrien will never take their miraculous for granted ever again.

It never occurred to them how much running and jumping they actually did in their day to day superhero lives but it was becoming more and more apparent as they dodged yet another fireball being lobbed at their back.

“Crazy bitch is relentless” Adrien wheezed, leaning onto marinette for support

“Well as they say” she replied equally as exhausted “insanity is a great steroid”

“Who? Who says that? Who are you talking about”

“...shut up kitty”

Their only saving grace are the civilians that continuously risk their lives to give them food and a hiding place from la mère’s volley of attacks

“Madame, we really couldn’t accept this” Adrien protested. A kind old woman had prepared two whole sling over bags filled with food and drink for their fight

“Nonsense” She insisted, shooing another grandchild away from kitchen “I have over 23 grand and great grandchildren, all with parents who themselves have had a tough life over the years”

Marinette instantly piped up “And you’re saying that we should try to be merciful and understand La mère’s background before judging her parenting style”

“What? Oh no that crazy skank needs to drop dead and burn on the way down”

The elder slammed three shot glasses filled to the brim with vodka onto the table

“Now drink up kiddies! You’re gonna need some liquid courage down your throats before you go back out there!”

“Mari, I think we need an adult" 

“I’m pretty sure she is an adult”

* * *

 

50 missed calls.

How the FUCK do you not pick up during 50 missed calls. It’s damn near impossible.

La Mère was seething. Hawkmoth better be dead or he’s gonna wish that he was.

She sucked down another cigarette. She had grown bored with the initial game that was planned and was now just focused on killing the brats that made her do this whole hunt. Plus it certainly helped that they were also El’s parents so that’ll make their death extra sweet.

She went to sit down at a cafe table and take a break when the chair was kicked out from under her.

“Who the fuc-”

“HEY” Marinette slurred, a few too many ‘liquid courage’ shots in her system “You looking for a fucking fight? WELL GUESS WHO HAS HER GLOVES ON BITCH!”

La Mère was at a loss. Did she really want to lose her life that quickly?

Marinette winded back and slapped the cigarette out of La Mère’s hand stomping it repeatedly with no regard

‘Apparently so’

But before La Mère could retaliate Marinette was suddenly snatched up and dragged away by a very frantic Adrien. He never told anyone about it but he had actually built quite the tolerance to most alcohols. At first it was the occasional ‘My life is so painful’ drink from his father’s liquor collection. But soon it became a fun little habit to drink with thankful civilians wanting to offer him shots whenever Ladybug had to stay at home.

Clearly, the difference was staggering

“You lunatic!” he hissed harshly “The hell are you doing!?”

“SAVING MY LOVEBUG!” She yelled, her words melting together

“By bitch-slapping her clinically insane mother?”

“YES”

They finally made it to the hotel construction site and hid behind the front desk. Adrien took hold of Marinette’s shoulders and shook her lightly “Ok Mari this whole drunk thing is cute and all but I’m really gonna need you to snap out of it.”

Her head lolled over to the side

“Ok” he groaned “You’re obviously not here. Listen, drink this water”

Adrien moved to reach into his bag for a bottle of water but a slender hand stopped him in his tracks. Marinette was suddenly getting closer by the minute and his back was pressed firmly against the marbled wall of the desk.

He was, in a way, stuck between a rock and a hard place

If that hard place was 5 foot 4, curvy waisted and had the cutest blue eyes you did see

“Adrien” she said in a sultry kind of tone “You know you’re really cute”

He tried desperately to look from the gap forming between her and the loose fitting shirt she was wearing “I-I have been told yes.”

He audibly squeaked at the feeling of her hand sliding its way up his shirt and over his well toned abdomen “And you’ve always been so helpful to Elly. Taking her over the weekend, making sure she always has what she needs. It’s soooo sweet”

“Well I am pretty much a dad now, gotta do what I can” He laughed her off nervously but couldn’t shake the electric spike down his spine from her soft figure pressing up against him

Her smile set his stomach on fire “I knooow and it’s so sweet” she got right up to the shell of his ear and whispered low “that I could just eat you right up”

Vicious explosions echoed right above their head. The bang shook Marinette out of her stupor, rubbing her eyes for clarity. “Holy shit my head hurts” she whined

Adrien virtually melted against the wall as he tossed a bottle of water to his now hungover companion ‘bless jesus and all his domain that was scary. Highly desired, but fucking scary’

“Come out little kiddies” La Mère called out in a honeyed voice “Mama only wants to play a game”

Taking Marinette’s hand they slowly inched their way toward the main staircase. La Mère was facing toward the door so he thought they would be fine.

“That’s right” he whispered quietly to himself “we are nowhere to be found”

“Oh now don’t say things like that” La Mère hummed maliciously “You might not make it out alive”

All bets were off. Adrien shoved Marinette and told her to split up. There wasn’t much of a plan but if they could just keep her occupied for long enough, Hawkmoth can finally get here with Eloise.

“He sure is taking his sweet time though, asshole”

Adrien’s feet pounded down the furnished hallway with all he had and bursted into a nearby room. He pressed his ear against the door, sweating dripping down his brow and listening close for any sign of danger.

It was quiet, the only sound being the rampant beating of his heart. He knew that she could be anywhere, doing anything. The tension was almost too much. But then a screaming voice rang out.

“Help! Adrien, save me!” He was hesitant to believe it. There was no way she could’ve gotten caught right? “It hurts! Someone help me please!”

He had to take that chance. Adrien threw the door open, mind focused and ready to fight through hell

Unfortunately, Hell seemed to be at his very front door

“Wow blonde, beautiful AND dumb?” La Mère chuckled “you keep getting better and better, kid”

La Mère shoved him back into the room and onto the soft mattress, climbing on top of his body. She laid all her weight onto him, shuffling around to get a feel for his toned muscles.

“You know, my husband looked much like you” she said, sickeningly sweet words slithering out of her mouth “Tall, blonde, even had a build much like you.”

Adrien struggled relentlessly but it only increased her excitement “When he died I was so distraught. Where on earth was I gonna get dick that good again!?”

His eyes shot wide open as La Mère took a full grab of his junk “Would you look at that.” Her voice ghosted right at his ear “Looks like my search is over”

La Mère laughed gleefully in morbid joy. His face looked positively delicious with his eyes screwed shut. The sight was so wonderful that she felt like she was in heaven

But then heaven got really dark and her body felt really heavy.

Unbeknownst to her, however, she had suddenly gotten very comfortable with the hotel floor thanks to a well placed (and very sturdy) lamp to the back of the head. 

Adrien cracked open his eyes just in time to see his attacker slump over to the side and fall off the bed, leaving only marinette in his sights.

She tossed the lamp across the room and wiped the sweat permeating on her brow.

“Get your grubby hands off my husband”

There were many things he could’ve decided to comment on. Where did she come from, how did she find them, how strong is she really cause that was a husky lamp she just chucked away. But only one solid thought came poking through his conscious.

“Husband?”

She groaned in embarrassment and stared holes into the wall “D-don’t look too far into that”

“Oh i’m going full abyss into that statement” He said with a smirk, it was going to be a LONG while before he let her go on this one.

Marinette’s stutter was flaring up severely as she tried to defend herself “Listen she was groping up on you. You needed help and then after I did it you were just staring at me so I HAD to come up with a good one liner…” She was going into a full on babble-fest but she could not find a way to just SHUT UP

“Besides” She finally said, her stutter vanishing as if out of nowhere “You’re not just some dead-beat baby daddy”

Marinette hopped off the bed and held out her hand to help Adrien stand straight. He grasped it gratefully and she shot him a dazzling smile

“You’re Elly’s Papa”

Adrien was pretty sure his heart just imploded from inside his chest. If she wasn’t careful he might literally drop from cute overdose.

Their sweet moment is cut even shorter, however, when La Mère groans weakly. She stirs awake just in enough time to see them escape into the hallway. La Mère gave chase, mind fully dedicated to murder.

The penthouse suite was breezy when they arrived on the top floor. They knew the hotel was still under major construction but to have no walls set up was a bit more troublesome than anticipated. All that had been accomplished was a sizeable divot in the floor where the main living room would eventually be.

They were running out of tricks and fast, especially with the sound of destruction creeping up on them faster and faster.

But then a literal ray of hope came beaming onto the wall besides them. In fact, it beamed 6 times in an even, steady pace.

Marinette and Adrien rolled back their rolled back their shoulders and let out a slow deep breath. From the corner of their eye they could see Hawkmoth struggling to keep Eloise still long enough to hide and follow directions.

La Mère came crashing through the door and their plan was set into motion.

10 minutes

That’s all they had

“Are you done now?” La Mère questioned viciously “Because just in case you aren’t I’d LOVE to see you get out from under me?”

The pair dashed for the ends of the room, splitting both themselves and La Mère’s attention in two. It happened so abruptly that she didn’t even see Adrien grab a pipe from behind her and slam it into the backs of her knees.

La Mère howled in pain, falling to her knees in pain. She moved to focus her attention on ripping every blonde strand from Adrien’s head but he seemed to have vanished into thin air. A thunderous clang soon stole away her thoughts, leaving her confused and disoriented.

Worst part about it was that this would soon turn to a vicious cycle. Every time she thought she had some form of clarity someone would either whack her with a random blunt instrument or make such a loud, crashing sound that she would be too focused on keeping her eardrums intact. It was all so fast she could only rely on pure instinct.

Luckily for her, one of them finally fucked up.

“Got you now, fucking slut!” La Mère had marinette pinned to the wall, hunting her down until she was cornered at the far end of the suite. Adrien was nowhere to be found, no one was going to save the mighty heroine now. She may look horrendous now with her hair a tangled mess, make-up runny and smeared and her eyes a shivering shade of crazy but by the time she was through, little miss former ladybug was going to be the one wearing red!

“Oh heaven’s me!” Marinette wailed in a mockingly wary tone “What will I do now? Is this the end for me?”

La Mère punched right through the wall in front of her, the blast mere inches from caving in Marinette’s face “DON’T FUCKING PLAY WITH ME!” she thundered.

“Oh? But why not?” She asked curiously “This is all just one big game to you isn’t it? A bit of fun at our expense”

In actuality, Marinette wasn’t even the least bit perturbed. The only real damage the crazed villain caused was snapping her red hair ties loose, leaving her hair to lay gently along her shoulders.

Marinette took a bold step up to La Mère, her once gentle blue eyes now flooded with the look of unabandoned dominance. But La Mère knew better. This girl was hiding something else, something truly wicked was hiding behind her crystalline blue stare and it enraged her far deeper than she could ever imagine.

Amusement

“Well here’s a joke you might REALLY find funny” Marinette tipped her head to the woman’s ear, making sure that each of her next words came in clear “Where. Is. Hawkmoth?”

La Mère gritted her teeth, blood dripping from her palm from having her fists balled up so tightly.

“Now now, no need to get your cheap leather jacket in a knot” Marinette patted her cheek condescendingly “If it’s any consolation, he’s been a bitch to work with”

Ember and smoke flowed freely from her red smeared lips “I’ll burn you to nothing”

“What’s that dear?” Marinette pulled back her hair, cupping her ears for better sound “You’ll need to speak up”

The room fell deathly silent. Her mouth hung agape with her eyes bulged with wild confusion. It should’ve been impossible, that old fuck should’ve been too cautious of her to do anything this stupid! And yet, there they were…

Two little black and red orbs, glinting in the moonlight on her ears.

“Oh and if I remember correctly, weren’t there two of us?”

La Mère snapped back to reality in just enough time to catch a pair of glowing green eyes and a titanium baton clubbing her in the shoulder

“Hands off my wife”

Marinette would’ve found the quip quite cool if not for her pride and teasing nature when it came to her kitty companion

“Wife?” She commented, getting reacclimated to her suit after such a long break “I hardly remember you putting a ring on my finger chaton”

Chat Noir shrugged nonchalantly “A gentleman like myself wouldn’t dream of considering you some type of gold digging ‘baby mama’”

“Besides” he said, his hands draped over the baton resting comfortably on his shoulders and his face breaking into her favorite devilish grin “Give it a few years and I may be able to remedy that dilemma”

Ok, she had to admit, her heart may have skipped a beat at that statement. Stupid cat, doesn’t he know that those kinds of things make a girl wonder

“What the FUCK is your problem!?” La Mère bellowed out, blood now trickling from her busted lip “You think this will actually change anything?”

Ladybug took hold of Chat Noir’s wrist, putting some much needed space between them and the now flaming villainess. La Mère staggered to her feet as her rage began to literally engulf her in flames.

“This has to stop” Chat Noir pleaded for the final time “Eloise doesn’t want to go back with you! Just leave her be.

“That little bitch is defective!” She screeched, hurling out a fireball and destroying a steel beam “She is nothing more than a mistake from one fling too many. But guess what fucknuts!?” Another blast of fire soared through the air and ignited the wood flooring “She’s MY mistake, and if I want to take her home, kicking and screaming, and beat her black and blue then it’s none of YOUR fucking buisness! I gave birth to her, she’s mine.”

There weren’t many things that got Ladybug riled up. Insult her fashion? She can shrug it off. Insult her bakery? The dozens of regulars that come in will defend it for her. Hell, even her friends she doesn’t really need to worry about because they’re all too crazy to really mess with.

So why did one of paris’ finest land a clean right hook across Mère de la Mort’s searing face?

Because there are many things ladybug can shake off

Insulting her daughter? SUPER not one of them

La Mère quickly countered with an incoming and rather heated open handed slap. Ladybug ducked just in time for the hand to catch a metal column instead, melting the material and trapping the hand in place. La Mère ripped her arm away from structure and shook away the scraps.

She ran for Chat next but all that time out of suit made him quite appreciative for his powers. Without hardly breaking a sweat, the fine leather feline swayed smoothly in and out of her attacks, even adding salt to the wound by cracking terrible puns the entire time.

With such classics as

“You know, you might be old but you are pretty damn FLAMING”

And

“Is it getting hot in here? Oh wait must be me” (He got the ‘watch it’ look from ladybug for that one. Whatever, he thought it was funny)

La Mère was in an absolute rage. Every time she thought she had the upper hand someone was always right there to rip the rug from under her. None of this would even be happening if Eloise had just kept her mouth shut and stayed home like a good little abomination.

She was running out of ideas, stamina, and patience quickly. She had one last trick up her sleeve. An oldie but goodie one could say.

She stopped her assault and composed herself to somewhat of an acceptable degree. Pulling out a cigarette, she used the tip of her finger to light it and sucked in a slow breath.

“It’s been a hoot kiddies” she said calmly, inhaling more and more of the poison black air “But I do believe it’s time for your final time out”

Ladybug and Chat Noir shielded their eyes as smoke blanketed the whole floor like thick black cloud. The space around them was heavy and La Mère could see them fall to their knees. She chuckled darkly, their screams were going to be so delightful, she just might record it.

“Don’t worry too much about the pain” She called out from dark void enveloping her “It’ll be your nerves that go first

She hummed a happy tune as she backed away from what was sure to be an intense blast radius. Suddenly, however, her steps were halted and she was frozen in place. What she couldn’t see was the wire wrapped tightly around her foot, no thicker than a strand of string.

A flash of glowing red whisked through the black mass, upper-cutting La Mère in the chin. She swatted it away.

_ *SNAP* _

Now her arm was paralyzed, wrapped up in a tight coiling of wires. She yanked and pulled at her arm but the more she struggled the tighter the coils got.

“This is getting real fucking annoying!”

“I agree” Came a voice, deep and cold like the arctic sea “Let’s stop playing games, shall we?”

La Mère swung wildly, anything to get herself free. Even if she had to watch their last breath those two were going to die by her hands! She kicked and screamed with extreme disregard for what she hit. But no matter how hard and how quickly she fought wire after wire wrapped around every limb. She soon found herself suspended above the ground, body twisting and pulling but still. 

The oppressive smoke soon evaporated, floating away into the warm parisian air.

All that was left in that open room was Mère de la mort, strung up in a web of wires wrapped tightly by her own rage.

But something else was left in that room

In that moment there was no Chat Noir or Ladybug. Just Adrien and Marinette with Eloise tucked snugly on Adrien’s hip.

The moment was intended to be a cool show of victory and intelligence...but Adrien Agreste just got his daughter back what were you expecting?

The proud papa spun his little bundle of joy through the air and held her close “I’ve missed you so much sunshine, I swear on my life I’ll never let you get hurt ever again”

Eloise snuggled deep into the hug, warmth deeper than anything she’s ever felt washing over her. “It”s ok papa” she said quietly “I’m just happy to have one of your hugs again”

Ladybug smiled at their little gush-fest, they were sappy (she blamed it partly on the blondness) but no one could say they weren’t hers.

She turned her eyes on La Mère, still fighting against her bonds. Ladybug’s once fast heartbeat slowed to a calm and gentle pulse. She gave Eloise a kiss on the cheek and said she’d be right back. Grabbing hold onto her yoyo, she stepped carefully over her constructed web, moving lazily until she came face to face with the embodiment of rage itself.

“What!?” La Mère growled out heatedly “You gonna kill me now? Beat me until i’m bloody in front of the kid? Yea what a great mother YOU are-”

Ladybug slapped La Mère right across the face, leaving her silenced. She turned back to Elly with an apologetic smile “Lovebug, don’t ever do that ok? Be better than your mama”

“Kay!” She replied still too focused on her papa’s hugs to really care

“As for you” Ladybug said, rubbing the sting of the slap out of her hand “I’m not going to do anything to you, it wouldn’t solve or prove anything. Plus I’m pretty sure my baby is hungry so I do have other things to do”

She stared deep into her eyes and La Mère’s blood ran frigid.

“But I can promise you this. You are a toxic, repugnant disease and a waste of labor pains. If I ever, even for a moment, see you around my family again, I will have no trouble ending your life by my hands.”

The look in her eyes was so deathly calm but the message was clear. Forget Alya and Sabine, Marinette Dupain-Cheng was far more horrifying than the two of them combined.

“And please” Ladybug pulled tight on the wire tied around La Mère’s neck “Test to see if I’m bluffing”

She pulled away and turned back to Adrien and Elly talking excitedly about all the things they were planning when they got home

“Lovebug” Ladybug called out warmly “What would you like for dinner tonight?”

“Strawberry Croissants!” Elly exclaimed without hesitation “Double sweets! For being good!”

Ladybug took her into her arms, laughing at her forward demands “I figured as much, greedy thing” She stepped over to the ledge of the open building and gestured toward the only steel column left standing “Chat, would you please?”

Being ever the gentleman Chat Noir gave a deep bow, his mischievous tail flicking back and forth “Anything for my lovely ladies”

With his gloved hand swallowed in black flame, Chat cleaved the structure in half leaving the building on shaky support. A thunderous rumble struck through the hotel signaling its quick coming demise. Bits and pieces of plaster rained down from the ceiling and La Mère broke into a panicked frenzy. 

All at once, the entire hotel came crashing down. And yet, there was no fanfare. No explosion, no final decree of vengeance. Just a building coming down with a beige cloud of dust leaving the site in a film of debris.

They wished that was the end of it. That an ominous strand of evil would just rise out of the rubble and fade off into the morning sun. But nothing is ever that easy, there was still a loose end to tie.

“I’m so tired of seeing your faces” La Mère commented, lower half of her body stuck under a slab of marble

“The feeling is quite mutual” Chat replied, kneeling over her “And let it be made clear that this is the only feel i will EVER cop”

Disgust coating his every action, chat reached between her breasts and pulled out a single black cigarette. Ugh, he was going to have to wash his hands when they got home.

“How does it feel to touch a real woman?” La Mère laughed darkly

Chat didn’t bother to look at her “I don’t know, I’ll tell you when Marinette gives me permission”. Ladybug flushed bright red; she did not need her daughter to hear that right now!

He crushed the cigarette under his boot and up curled black smoke into a delicate butterfly, ink dripping from its wings. 

Ladybug pulled out her yoyo and quickly purifying its malice and returning it to its once angelic white state.

“Bye-bye mister butterfly!” Elly exclaimed, wishing the spirit safe travels with wildly waving arms. It was surreal really, just a few days ago she was a traumatic mess of tears and regression. Now? The only thing on this girl’s mind was how soon she could watch the newest episode of  _ Sailor Moon _ (Was Sailor Moon and Tuxedo mask going to get together? She just HAD to know!).

But just like that, it was over. Her mama and papa dropped their transformations and turned away from her mother. They walked away, praying to never again have to put their sunflower through such a dark place again.

Yet still, she called out to her

“Eloise”

She wouldn’t let go

“My baby, come back to me”

She couldn’t let go

For she was her child. What mother could?

Marinette slowed her steps till she found herself at the edge of the heap once made to be a hotel. It could be so easy; just hop over the edge and leave, leave and never once look back. But it was like her legs had lost all feeling. She couldn’t move. She felt paralyzed

A myriad of emotion swept through her mind. Was this woman serious? How!? After all that she’s done, after every waking moment of terror she’s put them through, all for the sake of control! NOW she wants to try and play the wounded mother!? She must be out of her mind if-

A hand, small and warm wiped at the angry tears she hadn’t known were falling. Eloise looked up into her mama’s face, her eyes telling her that it was ok. Marinette loosened her tight grip on her in surprise. How could someone so small and so fragile be stronger than anyone she had ever met.

“Mama” She said, her tone vulnerable but strong “I want to talk to her”

Marinette took a deep breath. It would take everything in her to stay composed, but she would do it, for no one else but her.

She let Eloise down onto the ground, making sure to tell her to be careful not to trip. Her hands trembled to see her go, but if Adrien was good for nothing else he was determined to be a good support hugger.

“She’s too young for this” She sighed

Adrien nuzzled into her shoulder from behind “It’s not up to us to decide that for her. The best we can do is guide her, let her go, and then be there for if she falls”

Marinette chuckled quietly “When did this mature kitty come around?”

“Somewhere between watching my 5 year old get kidnapped and me being molested more times than I’d like” he replied

Eloise staggered up to her mother, climbing up the slabs of concrete and making sure not to tear up her dress. She sat, cross legged, beside her and looked down into her scarred face. 

“You’re such a good girl Eloise” Noémie hummed sweetly, stroking her long blonde hair. “I knew you’d come back. Because you’re mommy’s perfect little angel, sent from above.

She never noticed before but she was always afraid to look into her mother’s eyes, far too horrified to find out what she may find lurking inside them. But as she looked down, watching her try to lull her into a sense of comfort, it occurred to her.

Her mother’s eyes were brown. A deep penny-like color that had lost its shine from years of built up anger and resentment.

Contrarily, Elly’s eyes were green. A kind of emerald like color much closer to her papa’s than anyone she’s ever met.

And suddenly, it all clicked together like a light in a dark room turning on.

Their eyes weren’t the same

She is not her mother

There was nothing to be afraid of

“Mother” Elly said, her expression taking an intrigued look “Can I show you something?”

Noémie was confused, yet cautious to deny her “S-sure honey whatever you’d like.

Eloise reached behind her and took off her lemon yellow backpack, now dirtied and grimey from debris. Rummaging through all the pockets Elly pulled out her favorite sketchbook and opened to a random page.

“This is Sammy and Sophie” She started “Sammy can be a little mean sometimes but Sophie is always there to make sure he’s nice”

Again, she flipped through the pages and found a picture of a big golden dog “This is doodles, I used to think he would eat me but now I’m pretty sure he just wants to eat the snacks in my bag every morning”

She showed her mother pictures of everyone she’d ever met while she was with those who loved her, ending on a picture of three people. Her mama, with bright pretty eyes and soft bouncy hair. Her papa with his goofy expressions and long legs. And then there was her, small but smiling bigger than anyone else.

Elly closed the book in her hands and spoke with a clear tone “When I draw things, I only draw things that are good. That way, when I look at them again I can be happy.” 

Her hands gripped tight onto the book “I have never drawn you, not once, and I never knew why. I used to think it was wrong, that you are my mother so I should draw you but now I know. You don’t make me happy.”

Suddenly, years of repressed emotion began flooding from deep inside her “I once thought that mommies were just supposed to feed you and that was it. I’ve learned now that that’s not at all the case. They’re supposed to kiss your knee when you scrape it on the sidewalk, watch your favorite shows with you even when it’s late at night and just hug you whenever you have a bad day. 

Elly took a deep breath, feeling like a thousand ton weight was lifted off her shoulders “So, I guess what i’m saying is that while I know you’re my mother, I mean I do kinda look like you, you will never be my mommy or my mama ever again" 

And Eloise left her there, joyfully hopping back into her mama’s warm and loving arms happy to be filled again with the bright and sunny love she always knew she needed.

* * *

 

“It’s a pity really” 

Noémie groaned. Please, not this asshole.

“Have you come to lecture me as well? The kid just got finished basically disowning me”

Hawkmoth sighed in disappointment “All of this fanfare and for what? Boredom? Control? Self-loathing perhaps? What could you hope to gain from this?”

“Suck my metaphorical dick, asshole” She snapped, sitting up as best she could with her sure to be broken legs and turning her upper body to face him “You know, what is your fucking dilemma, huh? Those brats told me what you did. Was spiting me really worth you losing the only thing you really wanted”

Hawkmoth smirked at her “Without a doubt, absolutely. I loved seeing every moment of your own downfall. Best part about it was that it was all of your own creation. All that rage and now you’re left with nothing but a broken body and spirit. This is honestly better than my own birthday.”

He leaned his tall body over her, an intense shadow shrouding her in darkness “As for what my ‘fucking’ dilemma is?”

A blinding purple light poured over the broken pile of rubble and as it faded Noémie’s eyes bugged out wide.

Gabriel Agreste stood there smiling in devilish amusement “You fucked with the wrong man’s granddaughter”

“Here” He said reaching into his jacket pocket, pulling out the last yellow bandana and tossing it carelessly at her broken form “you might want to clean yourself up for your mugshot later this afternoon”

All things considered, Gabriel was feeling pretty good about the day. Hell, he was considering dropping by the Dupain-Cheng household with the good wine and celebrating his tweety-birds welcome return

But then the laughter started. And it was loud, oh so very _ LOUD _

“It’s so cute that you think that girl will ever have a happy ending” She called out mockingly “You haven’t even realised the tragedy of it all! How naive can you get!?”

Sadly, she was more right than he knew because Eloise would not get to go home that day

Not with Child Protective Services crawling all over the bakery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh I is just so evil I loves it! ★~(◠ω◕✿) I was gonna end it on a good note...really i was! But then I went back through some old comments and the issue of "Are we really going to let them ADOPT a kid?" came up and it got me thinking, that's a really good dilemma. Sooooo I just kinda ran with it. But aside from that heart crushing reality check, PLEASE tell me some of your favorite parts. What did you think of Elly's little speech, Ladybug slapping the fuck outta Noemie, Adrien consistently getting the feels up, Gabriel telling Noemie off, THE LADYNOIR FLIRTING TELL ME ABOUT IT STUDS!!! ok now i'm just rambling i'll be calm now. I'm gonna go take a nap.


	20. Regret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys remember how the last chapter was a bit bad...yeah those were the good ol' days weren't they? Well we all gotta live and learn somehow right, ENJOY! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

Three days without your own bed is hard

Three days without a proper change of clothes was harder

One could even say that running from the law was the hardest thing anyone could ever do in their life

But nothing would ever be harder than lying to your own child and telling them everything would be ok. Shit, even telling  _ yourself  _ that is difficult to swallow.

“Mama, how long until we can finally go back home?” Eloise asked one day while they hid out in Chloe’s massive estate. 

Marinette was paralyzed. She could feel the nerves freezing up in her throat, leaving what little words she had to sit there, choking her with guilt

“A-ah well um….you see the bakery…-”

“Is having some remodeling done since it got wrecked during the fight with your mother” Adrien smoothly interjected. Marinette watched, still stuck in place, as adrien lifted elly up into his arms gently with a seemingly bright smile “It may take a while to repair so let’s think of this as a little family vacation ok?”

Elly’s eyes lit up in excitement. “Do you think we can go to the beach? I really wanna see a dolphin!” She asked

Adrien’s smile faltered for a moment, his heart aching for ever lying to his little ray of sunshine. He ran his hands along her face, appreciating her joyous expression as his smile grew more sorrowful.

“Sure sunshine, one day”

A knock on the door struck fear into the parents’ hearts. It was thunderous and rough, nothing like a simple tax collector or salesman. Chloe came rushing down the curving staircase in her satin, honey yellowed robe. She quietly shooed them to the kitchen and instructed them to stay put until Nathaniel came down to sneak them out the back.

They waited in the expansive kitchen, ducking behind the prep island and keeping out of sight. They could hear two very annoyed voices, one far more irritated than the other. 

There was a lot of arguing for a while. Chloe demanded that the man explain why he was banging at the door so roughly. Apparently it woke up her son Noah which left him a not so happy camper and her a not so happy mama.

Adrien felt so scummy. They shouldn’t have to hide and rely on others just to keep their daughter around. Hell, wasn’t fighting her psycho mother enough!?

A hand on his shoulder pulled him out of his train of thought. Nathaniel quickly led them out onto the back porch, opening the side garden door and out into the streets. All the while keeping constant contact with chloe to ensure their escape.

“Hey Nath” Marinette called before they got too far “You two really don’t need to put yourselves through all this.”

“Well you are right in that we don’t NEED to” Nathaniel smiled sympathetically as he saw her face drop “But that doesn’t mean we don’t WANT to”

“But what if you two get caught for helping us?” Adrien countered “You’ll lose Noah”

Even with his red hair covering most of his face Adrien could still see the sarcastic confusion etched across Nathaniel face

“Chloe’s father is the mayor. I’d pay stupid money to see anyone try to make that magic happen”

….you know sometimes it’s good to have friends in high places

* * *

 

“Good night sweetness” Adrien said, lying Eloise down in Nino’s guest room bed “Tomorrow let’s go to the park, ok?”

She smiled sleepily, already dreaming about all the games they could play “OK papa, let’s play cops and robbers too”

He chuckled “You’ll never take me alive copper”

“With Ladybug I can”

Adrien smiled warmly and kissed her beneath the fringe of her bangs. He turned off the lights, made sure her sailor chibi moon night light was on, and slipped out the door.

But before he had fully left the room his heightened hearing caught something that made his heart simply bleed.

“This bed is hard”

With a sharp intake of breath he closed the door and sped up to the rooftop. He needed air. He needed the night sky. He really didn’t know WHAT he needed but anything was better than being reminded that your baby is losing her childhood by the day.

Oddly enough someone seemed to have already beat him to the roof

“Have you been drinking alone up here?” He asked Marinette, who looked more mournful than drunk.

She swallowed down the rest of the wine from her glass and looked at him dully “Shall I stop?”

“Hardly. Just wanted to know if you wanted a drinking buddy”

It was surprising. He actually made her laugh at that “The golden boy actually drinks? I can see the tabloids now”

“Wouldn’t be the worst thing they’ve written about me. And for your information, My Lady, I drink WAY better than you”

She let out a mocking ‘HA!’ “How do you figure”

“So we’re just gonna ignore the fact that you ripped a chair out from under a flaming psychopath huh?”

She didn’t have a real counter for that so she just kept quiet

Adrien poured himself a glass of white wine and leaned his head on her shoulder “Don’t worry I actually thought it was kinda sweet”

She shoved his face away, cheeks flushed a cherry red “Don’t try to cuddle up to me now, damn stray”

Adrien eventually backed off and sipped at the wine quietly. They sat together for a while, just looking down at all the little glowing lights. It was surreal, if someone were to tell Mari that she would be sitting next to her dreamboat crush while watching the paris skyline and drinking white wine she’d ask what you were smoking and demand a hit of it.

But sitting there with him, not letting any nerves or stutters ruin the peace of it all, it felt genuine. And to think all of this because they got put together as partners for a project. A project that turned into them giving everything to someone they considered their child.

Marinette frowned.

Their child that just went through more trauma than anyone ever should. Their child that deserved better. A child shouldn’t have to wonder when they were gonna go back home or why they always had to cover their faces in public.

“We can’t keep running like this” She said out loud accidentally

“Well I mean we COULD” Adrien joked “I am rich you know. A couple of big purchases, change our names, wear mustaches. I mean it would actually be beneficial for Elly to be put in an American school-”

“Adrien I’m serious!” She snapped harshly into the night sky.

He looked into her face, seeing the heartache and frustration she was truly feeling. He shut his mouth quickly, the last thing he wanted was to get booted off the building for taking one joke too far.

“I-I’m sorry” he stuttered shyly. Marinette sighed and ran her hands through her blue bangs “Just forget it. It’s not your fault”

The silence was back again except this time it was more of a creeping, awkward quiet that felt like it was eating them alive. The bottle of wine sat on the ground forgotten, neither wanting to get too tipsy for fear of what may come out if they do.

Clearly that didn’t stop Adrien from dropping one hell of a suggestion on his rather fragile partner.

“Let’s just give Eloise back. Just...turn ourselves in and be done with it.”

He wasn’t sure what he was going to get from that revelation. He didn’t know how much she’d been drinking and he DEFINITELY wasn’t too sure how fragile and reactive drunk her is.

So when she laughed...he laughed with her too. Who knows maybe she might go with it.

“You just really want to piss me off tonight, don’t you?”

Or maybe that...that was always an option

Adrien was flustered but firm “No Mari, I’m serious. You said it yourself, we can’t keep running like this”

“And THAT was your answer?” Marinette was starting to get more than just a little annoyed by his comments at this point “Christ this is just like you, making decisions ON YOUR OWN”

“On my own?” He boomed, his voice rising steadily with his anger “May I remind you that you were unconscious, so like I said back then and like I’m saying now I had no choice. And, coincidentally, again we’re back with no choice.”

“Wrong” She said, her own voice beginning to escalate “I’ll be a dead son of a bitch before anyone takes the child I, and more accurately WE, worked to protect.”

They were starting to get into each other’s face now “And look where that’s gotten us! Running from house to house, scared to look around any corner, LYING to our CHILD because YOU can’t actually face that the idea that maybe we shouldn’t be doing this!”

“And why do you think we did this in the first place?” She demanded, face burning with anger now “It certainly wasn’t just for shits and giggles, was it? No, it was because we have a duty to that little girl. A PROMISE that said that we would be there for her no matter what happened. So what are you telling me now huh? That, since Mr. Silver Spoon can’t get his daily bon bons before bed, he wants to jump ship and quit? Go ahead, go down those stairs and tell her that right to her face and then tell me how that works out for you”

He gripped her shoulders tight to keep from pulling his hair out anymore than he already was “Marinette, We’re superheros. WE spend every night pounding the rooftops, getting no sleep, and dance with death more times than a fucking circus performer. We’re not even supposed to have RELATIONSHIPS much less kids. Why do you think you never let me reveal myself to you?”

Adrien suddenly backed off, a revelation inching its way into his mind “Wait.” he said, his adrenaline taking a steep decline “Why are we even arguing about this? Eloise isn’t actually our kid. At the end of our senior year we have to return her anyway”

Marinette was stunned silent for a moment. “Adrien” she warned “You might wanna be careful with your next words”

“Mari, it’s ok. I mean, this is all just a pain in the ass school project anyway-”

Marinette’s hand went flying across Adrien’s face. It all happened so fast he hadn’t fully grasped what just happened before Alya and Nino came flooding in to break them apart.

“And I think we’re AAALLL done with this conversation” Alya interjected, genuinely struggling to keep her best friend from committing multiple felonies in the course of 20 minutes.

“Dude, just leave it alone” Nino advised, pushing his now red cheeked best friend a few good feet back to keep him alive “Look, everyone is just really tired right now.”

“Yea” Alya agreed “Let’s just all go inside, drink some of Nino’s liquor that he thinks he can hide from me-” “Wait, my what?” “and just go to sleep”

But Marinette was FAR past the point of civil conversation “Just say it Adrien. Say that you’re scared. Say that you have no fucking clue what you’re doing and just wanna get out while you still have time to make it to your fucking dinner party”

Adrien could just KILL this woman! “You wanna talk about scared? You’re dragging a kid all across paris like a fucking CRIMINAL, delusionally thinking that if you run long enough all your problems are gonna just magically disappear. And I’M the scared one!?”

The two parents argued and screamed for what felt like forever. Neither thinking there was any way out and both holding steadfast on to their beliefs.

But it didn’t matter. It couldn’t have. Not to Eloise anyway who felt sick to her stomach, hidden behind the door leading to the stair well with Sammy and Sophie seated alongside her.

“Geez adults can be so loud” Sammy complained, plugging one ear to dampen the sound “All that screaming for nothing more than a headache”

Sophie rubbed her back soothingly as Elly tucked her knees up to her chest. “As dumb as my brother is, he does have a point. Parents argue all the time. That doesn’t mean you’re the problem; it’s just them working out their own problems”

“Yea, you think THIS is bad? Just be glad your mom doesn’t throw things when she’s pissed”

Sophie punched her brother in the arm, scolding him for being so insensitive. Elly chuckled a tad at their banter but what was the point. They all knew this feeling, the feeling that you’re alone right now and if anything in this cold world is truer, it’s that no simple hug can fix it.

Eloise felt the tears burn down her cheeks. Her mother was right, no one was ever going to love her. Because she was a mistake, a curse that doomed anyone that bothered to know her. She will never know happiness, it’s not in her blood.

My the ones she called her parents? No, they worked way to hard for her to bring them down any longer. She would save them, even if it meant leaving them.

Eloise brushed away her tears and stood up, pulling her best friends up with her.

“Have you decided what you’re gonna do?” Sophie asked, hopeful that their witty dialogue had cheered her up.

“I sure did”

“And?”

“I’m going back to the orphanage”

It was deathly silent before Sammy gripped her wrist. “Are you mental!?” He hissed “You go back there and you’ll never see your parents ever again. And there’s no chance you’ll ever get adopted again!”

“Good!” Elly exclaimed, taking her arm back “I don’t wanna be! Look i’m not asking for your permission alright? I-I just don’t wanna see anyone in pain anymore”

Sammy racked his brain for any type of excuse to make her stay but Sophie’s hand on his shoulder gave him pause

“Well if you’re going to leave, don’t be one of those lame anime characters and not tell anyone ok? I’ll help you write a letter saying goodbye.”

Her brother ruffled his own hair in frustration but relented “Fine and I GUESS I can make sure you get there safely and walk you to the steps”

Elly’s eyes welled up again as she barraged her best friends with tight and loving hugs. They returned the favor, they may not agree with it but at least she won’t feel alone this time.

Silently, the trio tip-toed their way down to the twins’ room. Sophie wrote up the letter (since she had the best handwriting), Elly packed her things, and as promised sammy watched the streets like a hawk, ensuring that every step toward her new fate was cleared.

By the time morning came, no one had noticed a thing. It wasn’t until Marinette went to go wake her up that she found the letter.

It was like something icy and mechanical had taken over her body. Marinette walked into the living room where everyone had gathered and just quietly announced the news.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE GONE!?” Alya nearly shrieked, jumping out of her seat.

“It’s like I said Eloise isn’t in the house. She decided to turn herself in back to the orphanage.”

Adrien snatched the piece of paper from her hand, scanning it over for some type of mistake. But there it was written, plain as day.

Sammy had a lot of expectations for this moment. A declaration of change, a pleading cry for Elly to come back, them barreling out the door to go and reclaim the little loves of their lives, ANYTHING really.

So when they just thanked them for spending the night and started making their way out the door, it hit him a little harder than expected.

“W-where are you going?” He called out into the hopeless feeling room “You’re going to go get her aren’t you!?”

“What’s the point?” Marinette uttered bitterly “She’s obviously made her decision”

“And you’re ok with that!?” Sophie yelled next “You’re just going to leave her there? What kind of parents are you!?”

They couldn’t even give a proper response to that. They didn’t know what they were doing so why not quit while quittings good.

Marinette and Adrien left that house. They went home. There were no CPS, no cops, hell not even a reporter. It was like things had finally gone back to normal. Everything was “fixed”

Except for them, of course

Time seemed to have been moving at a cold syrup in January’s pace. The once famous heroic duo seemed to have just fallen off the radar. Patrols dropped into obscurity as neither could bear the idea of maybe seeing the other. Luckily, Akuma attacks all but disappeared as well so in a way it could be considered justified.

And their civilian lives were no better. Both fell into a form of depression, neglecting not just their schoolwork but school altogether. They barely came out of their rooms and the few times they did it would only be for a few minutes at a time. All contact with each other vanished and no one heard from them for a very long time

That was until two weeks later

“A party?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MMMMMM LET ME FEEL YOUR TEARS, THEY SUSTAIN ME!!!! so yeaaa this got A LOT worse before it got better didn't it? If it's any consolation (which i'm sure it's not) the next chapter is the last one soooooo...there's that?
> 
> Now there are two major things that I gotta bring up now:  
> 1) WHO'S ARGUMENT DID YOU AGREE MORE WITH? I didn't get to mention this last time our two dorks fought but I wanna know now who do you think was more valid cause that was really important to me writing this
> 
> 2) If you want something NOT heart-crushing to hold you over while I write the last chapter may I suggest the spin off side fit "Foul Play" It stars our favorite blonde baby and brown baby and of course who DOESN'T love some sweet SamEl (Or Elammy, whichever)
> 
> Anyway that's all I'M OUT


	21. Gezin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY MOTHERFUCKING CHRIST I DID IT! IT TOOK NEARLY A MONTH BUT GODDAMMIT I DID IT. YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW FUCKING HARD IT WAS TO WRITE THIS. I DON'T EVEN WANNA RAMBLE UP HERE LET'S JUST GET ALL THE WAY INTO IT BITCHES!!!!!!!!!

Adrien ran a unsure hand through his blonde locks “I don’t know man. Don’t you think that might be a little much for me right now?”

“Oh my god you’re right!” Nino faked gasped from the other side of the phone “How could I possibly think that you could handle a kids birthday party? For shame on me!”

“That’s not funny Alya” Marinette whined, throwing out yet another failed design in frustration

“That’s the thing about comedy. It’s like beauty, all within the eye of the beholder”

“Whatever” She conceded “and more pressing I don’t really think I can be around other families right now.”

“Or joy?”

“Or joy”

There was an audible crash in the background as Nino struggled to keep his twins from killing each other “Listen man, if it makes you feel any better it’s not just a birthday party. It’s also an end of the year party so at least it’s not purely about kids”

“Well that’s also not entirely the problem though”

“Well I’m currently busy making sure my twins aren’t wrecking my house so sadly I cannot play detective. Make it plain bro”

There was a long uncomfortable silence over the phone. One that left far too much time for overreacting thinking to occur.

“What if...you know who shows up?”

Mari could physically feel Alya roll her eyes at her from the other side of the phone “Really that’s your biggest concern?”

“Uh yeah!” She contested “I can’t face him after what happened. After what I did!”

“Well if **you know** **who** decides to show up to **you know** **where** then **you know** **he** will have to get over **you know** ** _IT_** _”_

“I’m feeling highly mocked”

“Maybe you feel that way cause maybe you are”

Adrien flopped out on his bed dreading the possibility of having to face his now “Ex-wife” in person again. He could still feel the sting of her hand across his face but what pierced deeper was the sorrowful rage that swam in her eyes.

“My hands are tied dude” Nino sighed “I’d tell you to stay home but Chloe is down Alya’s throat that all parents, current and not, attend. And you tell ME if you’re gonna argue with them. I for one rather enjoy breathing so for my livelihood you’re going”

Both Marinette and Adrien sighed “There’s no way I’m going to avoid this am I?”

Their best friend’s cheery voice made them visibly cringe “Nope! It’s garden themed so wear something pastel!”

The clicked of the end call rung heavy in their minds as a sudden revelation came to pass

“Shit! I don’t own anything pastel!”

* * *

 

“Well look at you!” Alya cooed as Marinette walked into the garden themed wonderland “So sweet you’re giving me fucking cavities”

“Oh shut up I had to make it last minute. It’s the best I could do”

The two chatted for a while, simply catching up on lost time when Marinette froze at an annoyingly pleasant sound. Ugh, she hated how much she loved his laugh

“You know, I’m sure he’s gotten over it by now. It was just an argument” Alya reasoned, watching Marinette steal a glance at Adrien for the fifth time.

“Ally, I once jokingly made fun of the ladyblog and you didn’t physically talk to me for 2 weeks. You’re not exactly the poster child for ‘getting over it’”

She sighed solemnly “And it wasn’t JUST an argument. Adrien made it clear that Elly didn’t matter enough to him...that I didn’t matter enough to him. I can’t just forgive that”

“And yet you can still look at him in longing sorrow”

Marinette nearly jumped 15 feet in the air as she almost FELT Chloe’s words on her neck. She whipped around to find the parisian princess holding a pair of champagne glasses in hand.

“W-what are you talking about I don’t look at him that way!”

Chloe rolled her eyes “Listen coccinelle, I was TRYING to stay out of this as much as possible and not reveal my dark secrets but I know a lot more about Adrien than you think.”

The bluenette eyed her suspiciously as she placed the glasses on a nearby table, continuing “We’re actually very close childhood friends despite our….varying personalities. And if I have to hear another tearful plea from him wishing that he could put everything back together with you I think I’m gonna vomit”

Mari’s eyes widened. “He what?” she whispered.

Chloe’s eyes softened as she leaned over to share some womanly wisdom.

“How the hell can you wear sugary sweet pastels AND STILL LOOK BETTER THAN ME!” 

Adrien laughed as Nino slumped over in utter defeat “I don’t know what to tell you man. If it makes you feel any better I had to borrow this from one of my fellow model buddies.”

There was a dead kind of pause before Nino spoke up again

“Your face may be worth millions but I will cut you, I swear”

They talked animatedly for a while, even inviting Nathaniel to join in the fun when Nino cleared his throat loudly, bringing Adrien back to the conversation  _ again  _ and away from the fleeting stares he was giving to a very finely dressed fashionista.

“Actually having a conversation with her is a lot less creepy than staring, you do know that right?”

Adrien’s blonde hair contrasted harshly from his glowing red face “I don’t have anything I need to say to her”

“It’s funny how similar needs and wants are from one another isn’t it?”

Nathaniel chuckled knowingly as the pair stared strangely as he mused over his champagne “It seems that the only real difference between the two is cowardice”

“And that mystical spiel means what exactly?” Adrien questioned cautiously

“That while you may not have anything you ‘NEED’ to say to her, it’s your own cowardice that’s keeping you from telling her what you WANT to say, am I right?”

Adrien was left speechless for a moment before the redhead followed through a sort of revelation “This is merely a guess but she seems like she’s just as torn up about Eloise as you are. So rather than stewing in your own depression maybe you should consider why they both meant so much to you that Nino had to drag you out of your own home to come here”

Nathaniel then turned on his heels and began to casually walk to the rest of the attendees, waving both gentlemen a lazy goodbye “You know, just something to think about”

Even Nino’s mouth was left gaping at his profound astuteness

“Dude, when did Nath become a philosopher?” Adrien asked

“I don’t know but I am clearly not living my life correctly” Nino replied

The party was in full swing by the time Alya got a mysterious text on her phone. Over the low roar of all the conversations she called out that the guest of honor was on their way and would arrive in 10 minutes.

Suddenly it was like a frenzy had broken out. All the parents and their kids ran around trying to find a hiding spot. Chloe and Nathaniel hid behind the front doors, one family shimmied their way up a nearby tree, and Lahiffe’s simply dove inside the rose bushes.

By the time everyone had hid Marinette suddenly found herself pulled underneath the gift table, knees tucked under her chin and back pressed tightly against a wall.

That wall being Adrien’s chest obviously

“I am SOO sorry” he whispered worriedly, throwing his hands up like she was made of molten lava “It was just that everyone was running and we had to hide and this was best option and just...sorry again!”

She should’ve been much more embarrassed or maybe just a little bit pissed that he would dare to put his hands on her. I mean just two weeks ago they were ready to rip each other apart. So then why was she more timid about the fact that she could feel his heart ramming against her back. She peered up at his fidgeting features and saw all the worry and boundless regret he harbored deep inside. Her resentment seemed to mystically melt away all at once. 

She sighed in content defeat, she really was a sucker for green eyes.

“Does it still hurt kitty?” she whispered, reaching up and brushing her fingers delicately across his cheeks.

He tensed at her touch, uncertain as to what brought on such an oddly caring question. She shouldn’t care, right? He looked down at her, watching as she turned to snuggle deep into his chest, looking closely into her solemn expression.

It to all click together at once. Adrien leaned softly into her waiting hand, taking a tender hold and pressing it against his cheek. His heart melted for this girl. Always has always will.

“It was nothing compared to losing the two of you”

Their bodies pressed together gently, their warmth mingling in a quiet declaration of remorse and understanding

“I missed you” She said quietly

“I’ve missed you so much more” He replied, his lips brushing close against hers.

Sadly, Adrien was not always the smooth operator he claimed to be. Before they could seal their reunion with a kiss his forehead beat him to the punch and knocked against hers. They simultaneously recoiled in pain, gripping their aching heads. 

Adrien was mortified, how lame could he get! The underside of the table instantly became super interesting as he couldn’t bear to look Marinette in the eyes.

“You and Chat are truly one in the same!” She laughed airily. He peeked down to see her barely even trying to keep her laughter under control. He let out a breath that he hadn’t known he was holding.

“Why, my lady! That’s like saying that I am not the complete embodiment of seduction. A descendent of Aphrodite herself!”

Mari rolled her eyes “Yea yea, keep talking with that bright red spot on your dome”

Face matching its crimson color, Adrien vigorously ruffled his hair, pulling his bangs as forward as possible.

Laughing mirthfully, Mari lightly brushed his bangs away from his eyes, gently pressing her lips against its bright red hue “There, feel better?”

Watching her cherry red lips retreat from his forehead left him with quite a dry throat. Oh he’d have a hard time calming  _ THAT  _ down tonight.

“I guess you could say yes?”

Before she could interrogate any further, Alya’s energetic voice shot out over the seemingly empty venue counting down for everyone to burst out into the open. Everyone’s voice went dead silent, their hearts beating out of their chest. The anticipation ate them alive…

3

2

1!

...

Breathless, breathless and speechless. That was how she left them.

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Gabriel had clearly put his all into this piece as he carried her into the party. But even with being dressed head to toe in flowers Elly was still the most beautiful blossom in the whole bouquet. The tiara tucked into her hair was stunning (and highly expensive! There were real diamonds in there!), but it paled in comparison to the brilliant and gentle smile she wore on her face.

Her smile, however, faded quickly into uncertainty and fear as soon as her eyes fell on her once loving Mama and Papa. Even as her YeYe let her down gently onto the soft grass, fluffing her gown and straightening her delicate crown not a single person in the whole room spoke. The silence ran so thick that it felt like the tension alone was going to swallow her whole and at this point, she welcomed it. She watched them cautiously, eyeing every twitch and shift in their stance, looking for any sign that they still wanted her.

She mustered up what little courage she had and took a step forward.

They, in return, instinctively took a step back

Eloise, or at least what she thought was left of her, shattered and crumbled away into hopeless oblivion. For the first time since her kidnapping she fell to her knees and cried uncontrollable tears of sorrow. Her worse fears had finally come to light. She was rejected and she will ALWAYS be rejected. It didn’t matter how many people claimed to love her for she was unlovable, a monster of a mistake that those were never allowed to treat kind.

She felt so cold, like the rain from that day was washing over her again.

Except, this rain felt...eerily warm.

And her body felt like it was being squeezed but...in a way that felt safe and protective.

Elly lifted her head from between her hands, peering up to find both parents kneeled over her, hugging her with all their might and crying tears alongside her.

“Please Elly, please don’t cry over us!” Her mama pleaded with her as her arms wrapped tighter around her tiny shoulders “We’re not worth it!”

Before she could even blink it was now her papa who had pulled her into a bone crushing hug “We were wrong about everything! Our job is to protect you and we couldn’t even keep you away from the tears. You don’t have to forgive us but please just don’t cry anymore.”

Eloise listened to their pleas in stunned silence, weren’t these the same Mama and Papa that had asked her not to cry? And now they were right here, sobbing as if they had wronged her in some way?....

Now that won’t do, that won’t do at all!

“Mama!” Elly called out in shock. She took hold Marinette’s face and pinched her cheeks roughly, moving her head all around as if inspecting it like a doctor would.

The dizzy mama tore her head away from her hands “Yes, Lovebug! What do you need and why does it make me so dizzy”

Elly thought for a moment, then booped her mama plain on the nose “You look really old when you cry!” She commented matter of factly

Needless to say, Marinette was not prepared for such criticism

“H-hey!” She protested as Adrien pitifully attempted to hide his laughter “I am not old! I have at least two more years before I even hit 20!”

“No need to take it so hard my lady” Adrien reasoned, placing a sarcastically sympathetic hand on her shoulder “With age comes a...mature type of beauty don’t you think?”

“Oh, can it, you stray!” The indignant mama retorted. But Elly wasn’t quite done yet with her acute observations.

“Don’t feel bad mama” Elly comforted “I’ve noticed that papa’s jokes aren’t as funny as they used to be”

“SINCE WHEN!?!?!?” Adrien shouted “Sunshine, you’ve always laughed at my jokes. They’re your favorite.”

“No need to take it so hard  _ Chaton _ ” Marinette snarkily quoted “Apparently your dilemma only takes a simple humor class while mine takes thousands of dollars in make up products”

“Hardly! I’d rather die than give up my  _ Paw-riffic  _ puns!”

“I wonder if we can test that theory”

“Mari!”

“I’m kidding! (mostly). And besides you have like nine lives, what’s one gonna cost you!”

Watching the two bicker so animatedly back and forth left a weird warm and itchy feeling inside Elly’s heart. So itchy that she found herself giggling, and not long after did she find herself just full bust out laughing.

Soon, all three were laughing their cares away as if barely a day of heartache passed them by. Eloise leapt into their arms, holding them tight and nuzzling deep into their chests, she was home and she’ll be damned before she ever lost her way again.

“I missed you, Mama, Papa”

Adrien and Marinette squeezed her back, hoping to fill her with ever-lasting love

“We missed you too, Elly”

“Oh thank god!”

_ Woosh!!! _

A white covering was ripped to the ground, revealing a glittering sign reading “Happy Birthday Elly!” all in pink and gold. All the families burst out from hiding, screaming out “surprise” with streamers and poppers leaving the little family trio, again, without words.

“Wait, you guys planned this!?” Adrien demanded

Nino snickered “Oh my god what gave it away? Us pulling down the sheet or everyone EXCEPT you guys bursting out and saying surprise?”

Alya quickly added with “Plus we DID say it was a birthday party we AND that Chloe put it together, we just didn’t tell you that which kid it was for or who came up with the idea in the first place”

Marinette laughed in disbelief “And how long were you stewing this together?”

“About a week” The copper toned mommy admitted “And just think this party has only begun, there’s tons of surprises coming your way”

“Always one for theatrics aren’t you?” Marinette commented

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just looking out for my favorite niece”

* * *

 

The party was in full swing once Eloise changed into something more playful. Apparently white and pink tights, a gold tutu and a t-shirt that read “six and sassy” in glitter was far too much for Agreste men because Mari had to not only confiscate Adrien’s phone but Gabriel’s too.

“Don’t you think you guys should actually play with your daughter, slash granddaughter?”

“But Mariiii” Adrien pouted “If I don’t take pictures now, I’ll never get this chance again!”

“Besides,” Gabriel interjected “all she’s going to do is play with her YeYe the whole time, COMPLETELY ignoring her father and really, how fair is that?”

Adrien’s lips quirked up into an irritated smirk “Careful dad, talk like that and i’ll start considering you for an old folks home”

“And talk like that might land you in a straight-jacket’

“Okay, boys let’s just TRY to keep our ego’s in check shall we?” Marinette’s eyes scanned about the garden, eyes resting on a simple game of life sized jenga.

“Since you two are so keen to prove yourselves, I propose a little competition. Winner of jenga gets a full hour of Elly-time.”

The phrase “Full hour of Elly-time” must’ve been the magic words because not even a full 20 seconds passed before it was Daddy vs Grand-daddy, Papa vs YeYe, Chat Noir vs Hawkmoth…

Or one dork vs a much older dork, your choice honestly

“Mama, what’s going on?” Elly asked, tugging on Mari’s floral print skirt.

Marinette hoisted her baby up to her hip and whispered in her ear “Mama just got your Papa and YeYe to keep still for about an hour, just leave them be for me ok?”. Elly’s eager nod was all she needed.

“Now son,” Gabriel taunted, shedding his finely tailored suit jacket from his shoulders “just remember that it’s ok to lose your father. It’s simply the natural order of things”

A block of wood shot out the unstable structured, lodging itself into a bush.

“Funny,” Adrien chuckled, picking up the block and placing it at the very top “I was  _ JUST  _ going to say the same thing to you”

Oh, it was on like DONKEY KONG now. Both men had their sleeves rolled up with competitive fire raging in their eyes. It got so intense that Alya and Nino made quick work out of having all the parents place bets on the match.

“OK we got 700 on Adrien and about a 1000 on the old man”

“I say we make it more interesting.” Adrien offered “I’ll make a deal with you old man. You win and i’ll take that couple photoshoot you’ve been nagging about for weeks”

The man’s interest was piqued. Marinette’s, however, was not. Sure he might not actually be her “husband” (Hell he’s not even her boyfriend) but the thought of him laying up with some rando tramp who’d surely find a way to feel up on him was a not to pleasant idea.

“Ahhh now we’re playing for some  _ real  _ stakes.” The former Hawkmoth (for a while) combed his fingers through his silvery hair “Very well, and IF you happen to miraculously win, I will allow you and your family an all expenses paid vacation to Fiji, courtesy of yours truly”

Honestly it was just silly how much the two was just alike. But then again, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, I suppose.

“Throw in the Lahiffe’s and it’s a deal!”

Funny thing was, however, that by the time they had finished, they had completely forgotten about the whole point of the competition in the first place.

* * *

 

“AHA! Found you!” Eloise declared, latching onto Sammy’s arm for what seemed like dear life.

Sammy nearly jumped out of his skin from the feeling on her soft skin against his. He tried his hardest to shake her off but she was like super glue; once on, never off.

“Get off of me lemon-head!” He commanded, pushing her face away

“But saaaaammyyyyy” She protested “I gotta tell you something!”

“Can’t you do it by not holding onto me like a leech?”

Sophie looked up from her 5th consecutive pokemon battle win (Empoleon with a quick claw and steel wing ftw) and laughed amusedly “how is it that you can boast and brag but the minute she clings to you you’re nothing but mush, it’s highly pitiful.”

“MUST BE NICE THROWING STONES FROM THAT GLASS HOUSE YOU LIVE IN!”

“It is actually, fantastic view”

Elly let go of sammy’s arm and began to nervously fiddle with the ends of her hair, mindlessly flicking it back and forth between her fingers and shuffling one foot behind the other. This was a new thing for sammy, the idea that someone so carefree could ever have a moment of nervousness, it was very “Uncanny Valley” and set the amber toned boy on high alert.

“Listen, um, all I really wanted to say was thanks”

Sammy raised a confused eyebrow, his cheeks a light shade of red “Foooor?”

“Well, for a lot!” Elly huffed pulling at her tutu to occupy her hands “It’s just like you said. I may have gotten lost somewhere but...you never stopped looking for me”

“Of course not!” He replied, a little too hastily in hindsight “You’re someone precious to me so I have to always make sure you’re safe. It’s what heroes do.”

She took a gentle hold of his hand and smiled sweetly “Well then thanks for being my hero Sammy!”

Despite his heart possibly not that far from cardiac failure, Sammy true feelings took over as he smiled genuinely back at her.

“Oh! And I think princesses are supposed to do this for their heroes SO!”

Elly yanked Sammy into her and pressed their lips together into a dreamlike kiss. He could taste the flavor of lemonade on her lips and his heart just melted. It may have only lasted a moment but to him it could’ve lasted forever.

Especially with the repercussion almost immediately wreaking havoc on his tiny 5 year old body.

“Soo just cause you helped save my daughter you think you can just steal her first kiss like that boy!?” Adrien growled in rage, wrinkling up Sammy’s shirt as he gripped it between his fists. At first he tried to struggle, flailing his arms wildly so that he could just go hide behind his mother’s skirt. But, if he were to tell the honest truth, he could die right then and there and be utterly content with that.

But as he saw Elly’s grandpa approaching from behind he started to relax.

“Son, that is not the proper way to treat a potential suitor for Eloise” Gabriel said rather dignified. Sammy breathed a sigh of relief.

‘Score! Elly’s YeYe will come in, calm this nutjob down and i’ll be free!’

“The best method is to completely  _ break  _ him down to nothing and  _ then  _ simply build him into a man better suited for Eloise’s needs.”

‘NOTCALMNOTCALMNOTCALM’

Gabriel stared Sammy down with an icy, malicious gaze. The poor boy’s soul went frozen.

“Now then,  _ Shall we get to the breaking? _ ”

…….

“Sophie, did you hear a scream?”

“Must’ve been some animal caught in a trap”

“That’s terrible!”

“Not at all. Sometimes an animal must struggle before they become stronger”

“WILL YOU GUYS STOP TALKING ABOUT ME LIKE I’M NOT HERE!?!?!?!?”

* * *

 

The sky was dipped in an alluring fuchsia as the sun sunk lower and lower behind the parisian skyline. As guests gathered around to watch the birthday girl open her presents and blow out her candles a somber expression began to fall on her once cheery parent’s demeanor. Watching her gush over her last gift made the painful reality of this moment come to light. Amongst all of what has happened, realizing it would be her birthday, the kidnapping, the rescue, the fight, all of it; They never stopped long enough get her a proper gift. Sure it was a minute detail but the fact was that they unknowingly put their own immediate needs well before hers.

Marinette scooped Elly up onto her hip, playing with her hair as the trio walked leisurely to the long table sitting at the far end of the garden.

“Lovebug, I’m sorry your papa and I weren’t able to get you a good gift” She said ashamedly

Eloise shook her head and smiled big “I didn’t really want anything! Well, except for the bike maybe, but not from you guys!”

“But mamas and papas are supposed to give the best gift, don’t you think?” Adrien asked

“Aaaand you did!” Eloise reached over, stretching out her arms for her papa to take over carrying duties. He obliged as she wrapped her arms tight around his neck and nuzzled her face against his chest “Being with my mom, all locked up in that cage, it was really scary. I didn’t know if you’d be able to find me, if you WANTED to find me, I was just really sad all the time.”

She popped her head up (nearly hitting Adrien in the chin) with a dazzling sparkle in her eyes “But when I saw you guys transformed?! It was the coolest thing EVER!! Just like on TV!”. The trio settled down at the head of the table just as Eloise came to a thought that brought a quieter kind of smile to her face “Just knowing that you loved me was great but to know that MY mama and papa were also my heroes? That’s all the present I need.”

“Plus, you didn’t get her NOTHING” Gabriel smoothly added, taking his seat beside Adrien. The parenting duo stared at the older man strangely, he clarified his statement “Miss Cheng, were you NOT the one who made Tweety’s couture gown?”

Marinette blinked confusedly “I’m NOT, you were the one who made it”

“Ah, that is where you’re wrong” Gabriel bemusedly laughed “YOU were the designer, dear lady. I was merely the humble dressmaker. BUT, If you don’t want my gift I can always just-”

“Noooooo! I want your gift too, Yeye!” Eloise fussed animatedly.

After much playful deliberation the older Agreste finally pulled an cherry pink envelope out of his suit jacket pocket, sealed and signed to ‘ _ The Legal Guardians of Eloise Etienne” _

The room fell to an electric silence as Adrien took to ripping the letter open, there was something that everyone else knew and it wouldn’t be long before Marinette, Adrien and Eloise knew it too

“Papaaa” Elly huffed “You know I can’t read too well, what does it say?”

“O-Oh right.” Adrien cleared his throat “ _ To the current legal guardians of Eloise Etienne, now identified as the dutiful duo of Ladybug and Chat Noir. It is with heavy deliberation and numerous good faith testimonies that I,  _ _ André Bourgeois, do hereby grant you full...adoptive….custody- _ HUH!?!?!?”

Marinette almost couldn’t breathe, she gawked incredulously at Gabriel as if he had declared her to be his successor (Don’t worry, that surprise comes later) “W-where did you get this from?”

“Uhhh the courthouse?”

“But these were issued today!”

“You would not believe the traffic getting from there to the party, maddening I tell you”

“YOU’RE NOT MAKING ANY SENSE!!!”

Adrien grabbed onto his “Wife’s” shoulder with a trembling hand “Wait a minute, We gave Elly back to the orphanage, We’re technically repeat vigilantes and therefore CRIMINALS and CHILD ABUSERS...we actually shouldn’t be anywhere near her right now. How in the (and Elly never repeat this because you are a lady) HOLY FUCK did you get anyone, even the mayor in his best mind, to agree to this?”

“And AGAIN this is where you are wrong” Gabriel then gingerly took the papers out of Marinette’s unstable hands before she ended up ripping it in two and he had to get another (he did NOT feel like waiting in line again).

“You actually did no such release of Elly” he said matter of factly “What actually happened is that she gave herself over to the authorities, claiming to want to be put back into the orphanage, but seeing as she’s SIX that decision was not hers to make”

Adrien recoiled at the swift smack against the backside of his blonde head “And what the hell is the matter with you? Can you even imagine how terrified I was to get a phone call from the  _ POLICE _ that my granddaughter had been spotted walking the streets  _ AT 2 IN THE MORNING  _ to go white knighting because you couldn’t keep your argumentative impulses to yourself? I had to go pick her up in my Pj’s just to keep them from actually considering it!”. He had to admit...he deserved that.

Eloise covered her mouth, unable to hide her snickering, “Papa got in trouble” She sang childishly.

“Don’t think you’re off the hook young lady, you’ll get your scolding later” The song was painfully short lived

“And personally I don’t know why you guys are so shocked that we got them,” Alya chimed into the conversation “it wasn’t that terribly hard” 

Mari gazed suspiciously over at her best (but maybe not best for her) friend “Ally, how did you get a judge to dismiss the, i’m positive, numerous charges placed on us”

“Again not that hard” She replied “Like the paper said we just did a petition, gave some good character testimonies, did some blackmailing...LOOOTS of blackmailing”

“ALYA!”

“LOOK I ALREADY PICKED OUT HER SWEET 16 GIFT YOU ARE GOING TO KEEP HER DAMMIT”

Adrien was almost too afraid to ask “And the mayor?”

Chloe scoffed “you don’t think I’ve got that man tightly wrapped around my finely manicured finger? One sob story and it was signed in 2 minutes flat”

“Like I said” Nathaniel shrugged “I’d pay good money to see anyone defy her”

So that was it. All it took was one signature from the two of them and everything would be finalized. They could finally go home...together...as one little happy family. All it took was two little signatures.

But they couldn’t do it

Not yet

Adrien turned Elly in his lap so that she would face him. Marinette stood behind him and they both looked seriously into Eloise’s jade green eyes.

“Eloise” Marinette started. Elly jumped to attention, this had to be serious if her mama was going to use her real name

Adrien sighed in reluctant uncertainty “Do you want us to be your parents?”

Eloise hesitated, her mouth kept opening to speak but the easiest words for her to say were getting more and more caught in her throat.

She was scared

“I...I don’t know” She finally said tears prickling her eyes “I want you to stay with me but…” Her voice died to a whisper “I don’t want you to get hurt again”

Adrien softly ran his hand along her hair “What do you mean sunshine”

“What if my mom comes back!?” She yelled “W-what if someone even bigger and meaner comes along and takes me away again? Would you still want to look for me?”

It was Marinette’s voice that came through this time, her dulcet tones warming the deepest parts of Elly’s soul

“You better believe it Lovebug”

She wiped away her tears with a tender touch, tipping her head up to look at both of their faces.

“Elly, It doesn’t matter how far you may go or how big the person who takes you is, as long as your papa and I continue to draw breath on this earth and even well past that you will always be our number one girl. Can you trust us with that?”

Eloise looked deep into their eyes for any kind of hesitation. Was she really worth all this love? Could she actually consider herself “loveable”? She looked and looked but they were resolute; eager and determined to protect her with their very lives.

They smiled

And in return she smiled brightly back

“I trust you!” She declared proudly

And as the papers were quickly signed and the strawberry vanilla cake was rolled out with 6 little gold candles adorning the top, Eloise felt a new emotion wrapping its way around her heart

Rapture and boy was it ever a wonderful feeling.

The crowd sang Happy Birthday one final time, her mama and papa joyfully singing along at the top of their lungs. The party was ending and as the last note resonated through the whole city Marinette, Adrien, and tiny little Eloise all took a big deep breath and blew out the candles together, ushering in new found happiness that they prayed would be pure, true, and everlasting

May their ending be happily ever after.

***FIN***

***...BUT THERE IS AN EPILOGUE!***

If this whole adventure has taught Marinette and Adrien anything it’s that Elly isn’t asleep until she’s drool from the corner of her mouth asleep. Tucking all three of themselves into Marinette’s bed, they tried a few times to get her up just for the sake of testing her tiredness, but she was as limp as a dead body, she would be clocked out till at least 9 AM tomorrow.

Marinette wasn’t too far behind when she felt her head buzz from her phone being tucked under her pillow. Groaning softly, she reached under the pillow and dimmed her screen for a better view. Her eyebrow quirked in confusion as she read the caller ID.

“Adrien” she whispered over Elly’s unconscious body, wedged in between them “Why are you texting me? We’re literally not even 6 inches away from each other”

Another buzz. Clearly he preferred text over an actual conversation. Fine, whatever keeps Elly knocked out.

***From Papagreste*** “You know i’m really glad you had a plan for La Mère, otherwise i’d have to resort to using the big guns”

Marinette scoffed and rolled her eyes ‘He’s so goofy’

***From** **Mother Mari** ***** “And which guns, pray tell, are you referring to? Certainly not the wisps of bones you call arms”

She could hear Adrien audibly huff in an offended tone. Suddenly the bed felt a whole lot lighter as he silently climbed out of bed and slinked off into the bathroom. She figured he just had to go use it and thought nothing more.

That was until he returned to the bed and her phone made a familiar vibrating sound.

Initially, she wanted to glare daggers into the back of his head for interrupting her beauty sleep. But the picture he sent far made up for the few bags she was going to get in the morning.

She didn’t know what was worse. The drool easily pooling in her mouth from ogling his well defined biceps, or the warm coil at the pit of her stomach getting tighter and tighter the more she stared at his stupid perfect smile. Or maybe the caption that read “You were saying? ;3”. To be frank it was dealer’s choice.

***From** **Mother Mari*** “Why Mr. Agreste, if I didn’t know any better I’d start to question whether or not that picture was meant to tease me”

***From Papagreste*** “Send me a pic of your reaction and I’ll give you an answer to your question”

‘Cheeky little fuck’ Mari cursed to herself. But, he was oddly smooth about it so reluctantly she complied, snapping a selfie of her reddening cheeks with Adrien popping his head up over Elly’s hair and flashing his million dollar grin and a set of victory signs.

‘Don’t think this is over yet kitty’ Marinette thought slyly, rising off the bed lazily and making her way to the bathroom herself.

***** **From** **Mother Mari*** “Happy with yourself chaton?”

***From Papagreste*** “To a satisfactory degree yes”

***** **From** **Mother Mari*** “Thank god. Now no more games for tonight ok? My back is killing me from all the activity today”

***From Papagreste*** “Oh, my bad Mari. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Aww he’s such a sweetheart” She cooed quietly to herself. It didn’t really do much, however, as her smile only grew more wicked.

***** **From** **Mother Mari*** “Actually I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind massaging me back here”

Adrien nearly choked on air. Glancing quickly over his shoulder to make sure Elly was still motionless he had to shuffle around in bed to relieve some of the ‘discomfort’ he was starting to feel. God did she look absolutely delectable with all of her back exposed to the world, sides delicately sloping into the kind of curves he would simply drop dead for. And that sexy, defiant smile that just dared him to make a move? She SO was not playing fair.

Adrien glared her down as she sauntered back into bed, innocently tucking herself back under the covers and stroking Elly’s hair in an attempt to play the doting mother. She didn’t wait long before another text came through.

***From Papagreste* “** Are you sure you want to play this game with me, bugaboo?”

She smirked smugly

***** **From** **Mother Mari*** “Was the first pic not a good enough clue for you kitty?”

He was much less discreet about going to the bathroom this time, eyeing her the whole time until the door closed behind him. 3 minutes later, Mari received a text that would light a whole forest fire in her stomach.

A crystal clear pic of Adrien holding up his shirt with his teeth, his sleep shorts riding dangerously low on his hips was all her mind was consumed with now (Especially since she was gonna make that his contact photo).

A sensual and deep voice came up from behind her, easing it’s way into her ear and leaving her already loose shorts to feel unbearably uncomfortable.

“Just know that you’re playing this game with a career model,  _ princess _ ”

Oh that fucker had declared WAR now. Marinette pushed past Adrien and into the bathroom, rolling up her shirt deviously high and her shorts deviously low to send a slick sultry picture of her well toned abdomen (Those years of hardcore patrolling were gonna pay off one way or another dammit).

The games had begun. Every five minutes or so the bed jostled back and forth from either Adrien or Marinette running into the bathroom (or sometimes the balcony if they were feeling reckless) and taking more and more suggestive pictures of themselves and sending it to one another with an added saucy one liner. It was stupid and immature but the way they figured this was the best way for them to get out their hormonal frustrations without having to find a midnight babysitter.

It was about 7 pics deep before Marinette decided to end the game with a bang. She had been saving a pic like this for his birthday or a particularly shitty day but drastic times called for drastic measures. She had been in the bathroom much longer than Adrien was used to. Whatever she was cooking up in there, however, he was ready for.

Unless they were nudes

In this case...they were nudes...just full out...no filter.

Adrien was ready to die a happy man he was in such a delightful state of disbelief. He stared at her, motionless, as she unassumingly wrapped herself back up in blankets and settled into bed.

She was not getting off that easy.

With a touch as gentle as a warm hug Adrien carefully lifted Eloise out of bed with one arm, grabbing Marinette arm with the other and quickly pulling her towards him. He laid Elly on the other side of them and in one swift motion, took Marinette’s face into his hands and laid his lips over hers.

But a gentle caring kiss this was not. This kiss was hungry, needy, desperate as if he were a man in the desert and she was his only oasis. His hand moved down her neck, fingers dancing circles around her throat. She moaned lightly and he jumped at the chance to slip his tongue behind her opened lips. That coil wasn’t getting any looser as she gripped onto his hair, pulling him close and taking his own mouth for a joy ride of her own.

But just as fast as it started, it finished. He pulled away from her and she had assumed that would be the end of it, just a quick mouth fling with nary a word about it in the morning. But Adrien had far better plans.

“Elly is going to her Yeye’s house tomorrow” 

Never would she be more grateful to have adopted that little girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It got all kinds of saucy at that Epilogue didn't it ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° ). But SO not the point. You guys...the main story is over. Everyone got their happy ending. All is at peace. But do you think I'm done with this. MY INSOMNIA SAYS NOT Y'ALL FOR I AM THE HYPE! I will be continuing this but more occasionally and very much on side little one shots just showing more Elly-cuteness cause let's just be all the way honest...we all need that blonde little beam of joy in our lives.
> 
> But to get majorly personal really fast this story actually saved me from going into a pretty deep depression. To make a very long sad story short I lost my boyfriend of 3 years to cancer and when he passed I was basically lost. I had nothing to do if I wasn't texting him everyday and one of our biggest dreams was to have kids. So, determined to fight off the sadness I just took a story and wrote. Everyday, whenever I started to feel sad I just slapped open my computed and wrote constantly. Posting it was just to make sure I could always come back and read it but to see SOO many people actually like it...AND TELL ME THEY LIKED IT, I now had something to write for that wasn't so depressing I was no longer writing to stave off my sadness, I was writing to maybe stave off someone else.
> 
> So what's the point of all this? Well one to say a big fat dripping THANK YOU to anyone that has ever read, liked, shared or commented on any chapter of mine and to encourage you to KEEP DOING IT. You never know who's on the other side of that keyboard writing these mile long stories and what they're going through and maybe you can be the difference in the mundanity of their day. You know, just a thought.
> 
> Thanks for reading you guys, Elly loves you.  
> (Also super playing favorites my favorite scene was the one between Sammy and Elly...their ship name is SamEL or Elammy)


	22. EX Chapter 1: The week of no sweets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What, you thought this was over? You thought I was DONE? YOU THOUGHT I HAD NOTHING ELSE TO BRING? BABY I ALWAYS BRING THE FLUFF WHEN IT'S NEEDED. HAVE A MERRY FUCKING CHRISTMAS MOTHERFUCKERS CAUSE I'M ONLY GETTING FUCKING STARTED
> 
> (Nah, like, seriously I'm literally starting a whole new series of just episodic fun chapters where funny shit happens sooooo get ready I guess?)

“ELOISE ADELAIS AGRESTE!”

Elly swallowed hard, quickly wiping her face and clearing away any crumbs or specks of sugar. She faced her mama and put on her infamous “innocent bystander” look. 

“Mama!” she exclaimed cheerily “I know it looks like I was eating out of the display case, but actually I had a very good reason!”

Marinette rolled her eyes “Let me guess, you were only eating the pastries that were going to go bad. Thereby  _ saving  _ the customers from getting sick.”

Elly’s gawked silence made Marinette sigh in annoyance

“Elly, the only reason I know that pitiful excuse is because your father, a certain ADRIEN OLIVIER AGRESTE” Adrien froze in place along the steps he tried, oh so quietly, to climb up to safety “has been stupid enough to give me that horrendous excuse multiple times before”

Eloise peered past her mother’s flour dusted jeans and eyed her papa indignantly “Traitor”

“Hey now! I take offense to that!”

“Do you now?” Marinette quipped, crossing her arms

“Yes, I do” He replied, “But more pressingly is the fact that you  _ my dear lady  _ are far too stressed over the little things”

“And by little things do you mean my missing bakery sales? Cause yea that might be a tad stressful.”

“Come on Mari,” he sighed “you know better than anyone that these pastries, although heavenly, are just a substitution for your sweet, motherly love”

Marinette was unconvinced by Adrien’s poor attempt at flattery, even as he smoothly pulled her over to the side, she eyed him carefully, watching for any dirty tricks

“Whatever you’re doing or thinking of doing, the answer is no” She warned

Adrien, however, only feigned a hurt expression “Princess, you wound a humble cat like me. I was only looking for a taste of my  _ favorite  _ sweet in the whole world.”

Before she could even respond she found herself in a loving kiss that sapped away any pressing thoughts she might’ve had. Marinette was so wrapped up in all the loving affection that she almost didn’t notice Adrien writing messages on her back to Elly, signaling her to nab as many sweets as she could in that little lamby backpack of hers.

Good thing she can can actually spell

Marinette slid her palms along Adrien’s arms slowly, bringing them behind her back to lace her fingers with his. Bringing them down to his sides, she parted their lips, releasing one of his hands and combing her fingers through his hair, giving him his favorite scratches behind his ear.

“ _ Kitty, my love~ _ ” She sang sweetly. He was putty in her hands. Leaning into her touch, poor thing was quite literally purring. Which made it painfully easy for her to take his ear in her between her fingers and yank him off of her.

Adrien opened his mouth to yelp but she clamped her hand over his mouth before he could. Leaning down to his hunched over frame she spoke with unsympathetic severity.

“Be a dear and remove your daughter from my display case, kay?”

She released his now bright red ear and watched expectantly as he quickly made his way over to the her quickly dwindling supply

“Sunshine, let’s head down to the park ok?” He whispered hurriedly, stopping Elly’s greedy hands from grabbing another macaron off the shelf. She looked back at him, cheeks stuffed with strawberry cream from a chouquette

She gulped down it’s creamy goodness “I thought we were gonna play Breath of the Wild today! You promised!”

“Trust me sweetness, I’d love to but um” he nodded his head behind him and if looks could kill, they’d both be piles of ash right now

Elly dropped the bag of confectioneries quickly “Papa, I wanna go to the park now”

“Good thinking”

He quickly took hold of her hand and made a quick escape for the door

“Oh and before you two go” Adrien hesitantly slowed to a halt, too afraid to look back “Be sure to use the back door to the bakery!”

“Why?” He asked cautiously

“Oh, you didn’t realize? Until I deem otherwise you two are both banned from the shop indefinitely!”

Now THAT made him turn around

Father and daughter quickly banned together to raucously voice their protests against the executive decision

“YOU CAN’T DO THAT” Adrien yelled

“THAT’S UNFAIR” Elly cried

Honestly it was all just unneededly grating. They’d been going on for the past 5 minutes before Marinette finally just shut them up with a decisive bang on the counter-top

“Look, you two have almost made it your personal mission to eat up everything in sight. I was fine with a cookie here and there but you’ve left me no choice. There will no cookies, cream puffs or tarts going to ANYONE with the last name Agreste.”

Her voice dipped into a low, poisonous octave “And If I catch you behind this counter, even once, I swear on my name as Ladybug that you will not live long enough to regret it.”

Elly stepped forward to argue but one glance into her mama’s blood lust gaze and she mysteriously found herself on the other side of the storefront window, her papa cowering behind her

One thing, however, was no mystery

Nothing was scarier than a Mad, Murderous Marinette

* * *

 

**Plan A: Substitution**

For the first time in three whole weeks the shop actually had a surplus of stock. With her two favorite hunger goblin’s gone Marinette had honestly forgotten how it felt to reach into the display case without smacking away a pair of hands first. It quiet and generally uneventful but for everyone’s favorite second generation baker it was a breath of fresh air.

She glanced over her book as the door’s bell rung, welcoming Nino into the shop

“My my isn’t this a surprise.” She smiled “What brings Mr. International into my humble little shop today?”

Nino laughed “Humble is hardly the word I’d use for Paris’ most beloved Ma and Pa shop. And to answer your question I’m here picking out treats for  _ Mrs.  _ International and our favorite little brats.”

“Lost a bet, huh?” 

“I will never play texas hold’em with those two ever again. Their poker faces are too good”

Marinette chuckled, amused by nino’s...unconventional family dynamic and knelt down to prepare an array of treats

“Anything in particular or am I going in blind?”

Mari noticed Nino pick at the inside of his ear but thought nothing of it.

“Actually yea, could I get, uh, three mini tarts. One chocolate, one strawberry and one mixed fruit.”

She popped all three in the pink laced box

“Three millefeuille, one with raspberries”

She placed them in with the tarts, a little slower this time. ‘This is a lot of sugar, even for them’ She thought to herself

She glanced up again through the glass and noticed Nino picking at his ear for the second time, this time muttering lowly to himself.

Something was off, she could feel it

From a distance she could hear a rustle in the bushes. One of the many perks of being a magical hero she supposed. Her face twitched into a frown but kept quiet. she’d need proof first.

Nino, however, was far from done. Viennoise au chocolats, Palmiers, Macarons, practically the whole shop. All the while, he kept poking into his  _ left  _ ear and muttering little things to himself and stopping her every once in a while to pick out specific pastries on the shelf. 

Eventually, however, she heard it. It was quiet and nearly unintelligible but she heard it.

“No dude they don’t have your eclairs, let it go”

Gotcha

“Nino” she called, feigning a thoughtful tone “I noticed you were feeling some inner turmoil over our wide selection of sweets. Could I make a suggestion?”

Nino looked surprised but accepted the help graciously. Marinette slipped into the back for a moment and came back with a piping hot tray of honey glazed eclairs, expertly decorated in beautiful blacks and blues to give it a mysterious and alluring gaze.

Her smiling was entrapping. “Will one of these do?” She inquired knowingly.

The bush across the street rattled violently as Nino clutched his ear in pain before quickly regaining his composure. It took everything in her to keep from rolling her eyes at the goofiness of it all.

“Uhm could I just get that whole plate please?” He requested pitifully. Marinette grabbed the biggest box the shop offered and neatly tucked all 2 dozen Eclairs in the delicate pink packaging.

As Nino waited patiently for Marinette to ring up his order, a thought came to him.

“Hey Mari, why were you keeping all those Eclairs in the back anyway? I’m sure they’ve got to be popular.”

A low, malicious chuckled seeped from marinette’s mouth, spilling it’s way into the shop and darkening the mood instantly.  She looked up from the register and straight into Nino’s eyes, the color in his face all but drained.

“Would you  _ really  _ like to know?” The look in her eyes dared him to speak against it but he wasn’t ready to die today so he just followed along.

She beckoned him over with her hand, all the while keeping never breaking eye contact to maintain that fear. He bent over the counter, leaning in close to her ear as she moved to, he assumed, whisper a secret into his ear.

But Marinette had bigger plans as she ripped the earpiece, and nearly his whole ear, from Nino’s head. Without even giving him another thought whispered lowly and menacingly into the microphone attachment.

“I keep them in the back to keep them away from gluttonous thieves like you,  _ Adrien _ ”

The little black piece was then crushed between Marinette’s fingers, reducing it to nothing but a pile of jagged plastic and wire.

As Adrien quickly ran from behind the bush with his metaphorical tail between his legs, Nino was left in the vicious fury known by no other name than Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

He gawked at her incredulously, thousands of possible excuses flying through his mind. He was bribed, he was framed, Adrien was holding his favorite headphones hostage.

But, what came out of his mouth however was decidedly much simpler.

“Please don’t tell Alya about this”

“Oh I am most definitely telling Alya about this”

Nino walked home defeated that afternoon with nothing to show for his work. No cakes, no new equipment, not even a promise to keep this whole ordeal under wraps

Christ he hated Adrien’s sweet tooth

Oh and as for Elly’s attempt to use a pawn to get snacks? She just sent sammy to go get it.

“Hey Auntie Mari could I buy-”

“Go home Sammy”

“Yes Ma’am”

* * *

 

**Plan B: Brute Dominance**

“Let’s go over this one more time! Who are you?”

“I am Adrien Agreste!”

“And who are you when things get rough?”

“I am one of Paris’ finest heros, Chat Noir!”

Adrien had to admit, if someone were to demand that he be assertive and dominant he’d probably just call you crazy and then immediately apologize and roll over to show how soft and squishy he is. He just wasn’t a rough kind of guy, preferring much more to be everyone’s favorite lovable pretty boy with a heart of gold. So when Elly suggested that he just... walk up to the front counter and demand his right to the pastries in the shop, he thought she was completely mental. And yet, here he was, war paint on his face and getting an inspirational pep-talk from his 6 year old.

Life is a strange mistress, isn’t she?

“Now you’re gonna go in there and fight for your right to eat sweets. Remember, you are the man of this family”

“yea”

“The big cat”

“Yea

“THE KING OF THE JUNGLE BABY!!!!”

“YEA!!”

With a march in his step and raging passion blazing through his heart, Adrien burst through the bakery door with reckless abandon.

“MARINETTE, WE GOTTA TALK”

All of the lively conversation that aerated the lively shop screeched to an abrupt stop. Adrien suddenly became hyper aware of his presence in the bakery but he shook his head clear of itching shame and barged his way up to the counter. 

Marinette didn’t even bother to acknowledge his presence as she worked quietly on a new design for an upcoming commission, keeping her eyes focused on its intricate design.

Adrien banged his fist on the counter. “HEY! Pay attention when a man is speaking to you”

Now that caught her attention as she calmly closed her book and looked up at him with an amused expression. The patrons stood around with bated breath as they speculated over how the scene before them would unfold.

“Ok Adrien, you clearly have something you’d like to discuss in front of ALL these people.” Her smirk chipped heavily away at his confidence “So let’s hear what you have to say”

That faux bravado he had built up was quickly crumbling as his eyes looked everywhere but his wife’s trapping blue ones. In the mirror behind Marinette he could see Eloise peeking into the shop and flexing her tiny arms in a display of power. He took a deep breath and remembered her words

‘I am Adrien Agreste and I...am a man’

“Mari, this sweets ban has gotten outta control. It’s ridiculous and totally unfounded”

She rolled her big blue eyes “Is that right?”

He straightened his back “Y-yea! It is! Think about what your teaching Elly. That every time someone agitates her she should deprive them of the simple things in life?”

“No, what I’m teaching her is that her consequences have actions and that she needs to learn self control. Something that apparently is lost upon you”

Adrien crossed his arms and huffed “It wasn’t a problem last night if I remember correctly” He muttered under his breath. The customers “oooo”-ed in intrigue, things were getting spicy

“Adrien, you better watch what you say next” She warned

But our favorite golden boy was feeling empowered now “I will not! This whole thing is just you running rampant on a powertrip”

The crowd behind them gasped, this drama was getting better and better

“And if I am? These are MY pastries and, in all reality, MY family’s bakery so I will protect it however the HELL I WANT”

Adrien had had it with her! Mustering up every bit of adrenaline based courage running through him he gripped the counter with both hands and, just like his father taught him as a young boy, ‘said it with his chest’

“DAMMIT WOMAN I AM THE KING OF THIS FUCKING CASTLE AND YOU ARE GOING TO DROP THIS STUPID BAN RIGHT NOW!”

The crowd fell into a dead silence as Marinette stared shocked and surprised at her stupidly bold husband. Her head dipped down as her bangs covered up her eyes. She spoke no words and it left Adrien with an unknown feeling in his stomach. At first he took her silence as impressed obedience, thinking that he had effectively scared her into letting him have an eclair and be on his way.

But then she started to laugh.

Ooooooh he knew that laugh and he also suddenly remembered that feeling in his stomach. It was definitely NOT pride. It was….

“So you’re a king now huh?”

Yup, it was fear

Everyone in the shop scattered to the furthest edge of the shop as Marinette stepped from behind the counter, her blue eyes darkened like the coming storm. Adrien couldn’t feel his feet, he was so scared. She leaned against the counter with a malicious and knowing smirk on her face. He wants to play big and bad? Fine, then she’ll show him what the real big bad wolf can do.

“You know, I’ve never really thought about it before but the idea of a ‘king’ is pretty interesting” She stretched the kinks out of her aching back and picked at a piece of hair that had loosened from her bun “They’re supposed to be these grandiose protectors and providers, invaluable to their people and second only to god himself”

Her smirk dropped to desolate frown “It’s completely moronic if you ask me”

“A couple facts for the uninformed” She watched him closely as he squirmed under her gaze, it honestly made her chuckle a little. He looks so cute when he’s struggling

“The mighty lion is called the ‘King of the Jungle’. A beast that lords over all his subjects and makes offspring with all the other lionesses. But do you know who actually does all the WORK? All of the birthing of the cubs, raising of the cubs, and HUNTING for the food to feed those cubs? Well clearly not the king! He’s too busy...being the king! So why bother?”

Adrien opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off “Fact two. In the game of chess one might think that the best way to win the game is to capture the king as quickly as they can, ignoring all others. But as we both know, that would be a useless effort, for it is the queen’s capture that decides the match. But why? It’s the king that owns the land. Why trouble yourself with the queen? Simple. King dies, another is born and takes the throne. Queen dies and there’s no heir or even anyone to teach him how to rule.

“And finally, a small history lesson” She stood straight, making Adrien flinch back a few inches “Being that we’re french you clearly know the story of Isabella of France. But if not, i’ll just share the juicy bits. After devoting her life to King Edward II of England, giving him a strong, healthy heir, and essentially having to fight for her position as queen against the stupid motto of ‘bros before hoes’, Isabella finally became fed-up with her husband’s incompetence and rallied her own invasion into England. She quickly captured the king, took the land, and eventually burned him alive! All for pissing her off one too many times.”

“So tell me Chaton” Marinette said, leisurely approaching Adrien and wrapping her arms around his waist in a deceptively sweet hug. He knew better, this was nothing more than her insurance that he wouldn’t try to run “If you are the king of this castle, that clearly makes me queen.”

“So which one do you think I’d be?” she said as she brought her arms back toward the front and ran her hands up his abdomen “The worker type? The silent ruler type?”

He should be nearly pissing himself with how dangerous he knew she could be, hell the woman would string him up by his neck if she was sure he wouldn’t die from it. But dammit, something about how her fingers were just dancing along his chest was just crumbling his defenses and almost making his knees buckle.

“Or maybe….

That was until those magic fingers wound it’s way around his throat, of course

Her eyes seemed to flash all the colors of crazy as she gazed up at him, a wild grin plastered across her usually docile face. The pressure wasn’t nearly close enough to hurt him but it wasn’t meant to be. This was a warning that…

“Maybe I’m the one that’s just  _ crazy  _ enough to do something drastic”

She released his neck from her hands and stood high on her tiptoes, her lips just barely brushing against the shell of his ear

“You can figure out which one as you’re leaving”

As if he were made of cogs and springs, Adrien quickly turned on his heel and marched right out the door with nothing in hand...not even his pride.

“W-wait, Papa! What happened!” Elly questioned, trailing behind her papa’s heels in confusion “Where’s the pastries, what about being king!?”

Elly knocked into the back of his knees as Adrien stopped abruptly and spoke in a mysteriously far-off and contemplative tone “Elly you’re mother is a very powerful woman. She can make you feel whatever she wants. And one day. When you’re older, i’ll tell you what she made me feel today”

She had no clue what her papa was going on about. All  _ she _ was feeling right now was hunger and confusion.

* * *

 

**Plan C: Diversion**

Adrien walking into the shop with all the confidence of a normal day left Marinette with a few concerns. He clearly was starting to spiral into clinical insanity if he thought he was going to get much farther than the front door with his little stunt the other day. But regardless, she kept her senses alert, prepared for the inevitable stupidity.

But she wasn’t quite prepared for a bouquet of exotic flowers….she had no real plan for that

“J-just because you give me flowers does not mean I’m going to change my mi-” Her train of thought was interrupted when Adrien put up his hands in a display of some kind of surrender

“Before you bite my head off, don’t worry, I come in complete peace. These flowers are actually meant to apologize, not convince”

She was skeptical, no debate there, but the way the flowers were arranged seemed far too meticulous to just be thrown together at the last minute. Plus, if she knew her Chat the way she thinks she does, he never does anything shoddily when it comes to the ones he loves.

“Each individual flower was picked to express my profound remorse for the past few days’...shenanigans, we’ll say”

“Okay, now THAT I find hard to believe”

The smug smirk plastered on his face made her roll her eyes. She wondered how long he’d been waiting for her to say that

He pointed to a row of rosemary looking flower buds “Baptisia, an  herbaceous perennial that acutely signifies the unjust deceit that I placed upon for you for my own greed.”

“You then have the Harebell that shows my complete grief for my errors, the star of bethlehem signaling my plea for reconciliation and the Calliandra paired with the Heliotrope promising my fidelity and utter devotion unto my very own goddess of luck, you”

She stared amazedly at him, crazy bastard actually impressed her.

Marinette shook away her shock and relented, if only for a moment, “Ok kitty, I can see that you are at least  _ somewhat  _ sorry”. She could see his eyes light up, she corrected herself quickly “BUT my decision still stands and not just because I’m an evil sadist that likes making your life difficult...even though I am”

She reached up on a high shelf and pulled down a vase to transfer the bouquet into, her eyes drifting into thought “You and I are parents now. Real, all the way until she’s out of  Université, parents. Therefore, as Elly’s parents we have a duty to teach her the rules of the world and how to navigate them. And ONE of rules just happens to be that she can’t just cute her way into getting whatever she wants and out of any trouble she may face. I want her to be a little more clever than that”

“And you don’t think she learns that from watching you everyday?” His question gives her pause as she stares at him curiously

“Bugaboo, I know you may think that Elly only takes up my traits because she’s recently gotten a lot goofier but you might want to give our little girl some more credit than that” Adrien props himself up on the counter and bemusedly watches his wife’s confused look

“Remember Mari, Elly DID manage to turn the ice dragon himself into her biggest fan just because she wanted him to appreciate me more. She’s also the one that not only gave herself up to her complete psychopathic mother to save her classmates but attempted to turn herself back into the orphanage as well because she thought it might save us some heartache. All pretty ‘you’ moves if you ask me”

Marinette’s face flushed a slight hint of red “I-I hadn’t quiet thought of it that way before”

“Well you can think about it more on our way to  _ La Bousse _ cause we, my dearest lady are going on a date!”

“Absolutely not!” She shook her head in disbelief “There’s no way I’m just gonna close up the shop just because you ask me out with that dashing smile of yours….please forget you heard that”

“Not a chance and not a problem! I’ve already chatted with your parents and they gave the a-ok for the next few hours.”

Her disbelief began to chip slightly into simple skepticism “And Elly? You know she can’t walk home by herself yet and someone has to go pick her up from her art lessons”

“Also handled. Nino will be picking her up ON TIME and she will be spending the afternoon with the twins, apparently they got a new game on their switch”

Mangy cat had an answer for everything didn’t he? Marinette was unsure but her growling stomach ultimately gave her away. “Fine, fine you win kitty”

She came from behind the counter, untying the apron from around her waist “Just let me change outta these clothes and LOCK UP THE SHOP, then we can go”

“Promise you’ll wear my favorite?” He calls after her as she ascends the staircase

“I keep telling you Chat, only on your birthday” She calls back

15 minutes later the cheery couple were on their way out the door and out on the town, all the while one was completely unaware of the little spy hiding in the bushes right under their noses

Elly popped out from behind the bushes along the side of the bakery, her outfit equipped with the finest spy gear she could convince her papa to buy. She shuffled out from behind the bush and rather than using her custom lock pick kit and breaking in through the front door where she’s sure to be seen, channeled her inner Chat Noir and scaled the fire escape onto her mother’s balcony.

Appreciating all the times she’d accidentally locked herself out on the balcony, Elly cautiously reached between the rose vines and plucked out the little golden key leading to her mother’s room. She dropped down softly to the carpeted floor and she had to admit, she was pretty proud of herself.

“But that was the easy part” she murmured determinedly to herself “Now begins the real heist”

***Down by the Café***

“Ugh I can’t believe you convinced me to eat something so spicy!” Adrien swallowed his third helping of milk to soothe the searing heat. Sausage and Pepper Rustica, truly a sadistic creation.

“Hah! serves you right.” Marinette laughed loftily “Now just ask for a parfait and quit your bellyaching”

Adrien looked at her with agitated confusion “And why exactly would I do that?”

“Uh because it’s a better option than draining the cafe’s milk supply? The cold cream will stop the burning”

“But you’re not the one who made it”

The bluebell was speechless for a moment but spoke up in nervous pessimism “S-so? I know you’re eating probably every sweet in all of paris just to spite me. So what’s putting this one on the chopping block for you?”

Her fake haughty laugh only fell quieter and quieter and she took quick notice of Adrien’s unamused face as he simply let her realize the obvious.

“Adrien...you really haven’t had one pastry since the ban?”

Even his usual sly smirk held a tone of melancholy which made her heart sink ever so slightly, “Well my doctor did say that he was starting to worry about my blood sugar levels”

But if he wasn’t eating any sweets then...Grim realization washed over her face “What about Elly? She must’ve at least had some candy or something”

“You know it was the most interesting thing when Elly’s teacher called me just cause Elly wasn’t jumping off the walls like she usually does. Funny what sugar can do for a kid right?”

Marinette could take no more “Look i’m not saying that you need sweets everyday but why are you only limiting yourself to the one’s my family makes. That doesn’t make any sense!”

“Sure it does” He replied, shrugging “Your pastries are the only ones that are any good to me and Elly. No one else compares.”

Adrien genuinely laughed at her baffled expression “You seem to be underestimating a lot of things recently haven’t you. The pastries that your family makes mean a lot more to me and Elly than just a bunch of ways to ingest sugar. They’re reminders of your love and our bond as a family, so there’s no place on this earth that can replace that.”

Marinette’s cheeks flushed a cherry tree pink. Did the shop really mean that much to them? The pastries were nothing gourmet, sure, but to them...maybe that didn’t matter?

Adrien was about to speak again when someone, rather merrily and unceremoniously, interrupted their intimate discussion.

“Oh hey man! Fancy seeing you here.”

Oh...oh no

“Hi Auntie Mari”

“Hello Sophie. Hello Sammy”

Oh sweet crispity crunchity jesus no

Adrien let out his most convincingly fake laugh, desperate to make the bad man go away “NINO! MY BEST FRIEND WHO CAN DO ME NO WRONG AND WHO I AM SO CLOSE TO THAT WE ARE PRACTICALLY PSYCHOLOGICALLY LINKED! WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE!”

Nino quirked an eyebrow up in confusion at his best friend’s oddly specific statement but brushed it off “Mm not much just picked up Sophie from dance class and Sammy from soccer practice so for now we’re just headed home so I can get started on lunch”

Marinette hummed in amused understanding and you could just see Adrien shrinking smaller and smaller in his seat. If there is such a thing as reincarnation he swears he will never become Chat Noir ever again.

“But don’t you think you’re forgetting something?” He asked in an almost pleading tone

The copper toned man pondered for a moment “Nnnnope, I don’t think I am”

Marinette reclined in her seat, this was just entertainment now. “Oh Nino, you jokester!” Adrien interrupted nervously “Didn’t we agree that you would GO and PICK UP Elly from her art lessons TODAY? AS IN NOW? I’m sure the twins have a lovely new game they want to play with her.”

Sammy opened his mouth to speak but Sophie just clasped her hand over his mouth and shushed him quietly. No need to dig this man into a deeper hole than he already was in.

Nino furrowed his brow in deep thought, trying to wrack his brain to remember. But then, miraculously, it hit him “Oh yeah I remember that conversation!”

Adrien’s eyes almost welled up with tears ‘THERE IS A GOD’

“And I actually remember telling you that I’d be too swamped with an upcoming gig to go get her today.”

‘AND HE IS FUCKING LAUGHING AT ME’

“Hell, actually I shouldn’t have even been hanging around here as long as I have.” He took a look down at his watch “Geez, Alya’s gonna kill me if I don’t get home soon"

‘NOT BEFORE I GET MY HANDS AROUND YOUR THROAT FIRST’

“I think I’ve heard enough” Marinette finally spoke “Nino, it’s clear that you’re pretty busy today so please, don’t let us take up much more of your time”

She gathered up her stuff and stood slowly from the table “Adrien I am going home. And if I get there and there is even one sprinkle out of place, I will personally make it my mission to find out how many ways there are to  _ skin a cat _ ”

Yikes, even Nino could feel that threat

Adrien swallowed down the lump of fear forming in his throat and spoke with wavering composure “Everything is just as you left it. I’m positive Elly is still at the art school and is just waiting on the steps. Nothing to get upset about”

Marinette didn’t even bother to dignify him with a response as Adrien calmly watched her turn on her heels and walk out of the café….

And then promptly throw 50 euro on the table and clamber over the iron fence, sprinting down the street after her.

“Christ and I thought  _ your  _ mother was scary”

But not before jogging back and punching Nino hard in the shoulder, bro-code his ass.

* * *

***Over with the dragon lady***

Someone was going to die today. She didn’t know who and she hadn’t quiet decided on  how but someone was going to feel pain on this day.

Marinette could feel herself walking faster and faster down the cobbled street, her heels clicking away at a breakneck pace. God, she was so pissed she couldn’t even think straight.

“‘ You then have the Harebell that shows my complete grief for my errors and the star of bethlehem signaling my plea for reconciliation’” She said, mocking Adrien’s deceptively sincere tone “Stupid fucking liar, I can’t believe I actually  _ fell _ for that garbage”

Feeling her anger bubbling up higher and higher, Marinette threw on her transformation and swung herself up onto the rooftops. Partly to get there faster but mostly because she knew she could lose chat, who she was sure was following her, among the buildings

‘I’ll bet he has Elly all wrapped up in his little scheme too, rooting around the cabinets till there’s nothing left.’ Ladybug pondered that thought for a moment ‘No, Adrien’s not bold or stupid enough to pull something like this off. No, this was entirely Eloise’s creation’

It took no time at all to reach the bakery, only about 10 minutes or so, but rather than barreling head first into the shop and catching the little golden haired thief red handed, ladybug wanted proof, juicy, glorious blackmail to hold over both their heads for years and years to come.

Crouching behind the chimney from the house across the street, Ladybug prepared her phone for prime picture taking. This picture was going to be so damn professional that it would even make Alya jealous.

She heard footsteps coming from around the corner and aimed the lens

“I’ve caught you now you little sneak! Covered in all that damn…….paint?”

It was inconceivable. Eloise strolling around the corner as if she had just gotten there, her cheeks, shirt and pants scuffed with paint like she had just got finished playing in finger paint. No this didn’t add up, something had to be off.

Eloise noticed her mama staring down at her from atop the building and waved excitedly. Feeling weirdly obligated to somewhat returned the favor, Ladybug leapt down from atop the building to greet her daughter.

“Hey mama!” Elly sang, reaching her arms out to be picked up. Ladybug complied but she felt weird about it. Was it possible that Adrien could’ve sent one of the house servants to do his dirty work? Were they even paid enough to do that?

There had to be something on her. “Mama, what are you doing”. A sprinkle, a drop of cream, a fleck of dried icing, ANYTHING! Ladybug picked and sniffed at her every which way to sunday, but to no avail, there was nothing on her but paint and scrapes from the playground. She was as clean as a six year old could be.

But Ladybug would not be deterred. She decided to keep with the partners in crime theory and press Elly for answers.

“Eloise, you know you’re not supposed to walk home by yourself. Why didn’t you wait for your Uncle Nino like I’m sure your papa told you to” She figured if she kept asking questions then eventually their stories would start to fall apart. All she had to do was wait.

“I did wait for Uncle Nino.” Elly replied “I waited for a SUPER long time, but then I got bored and called papa asking if I could walk home by myself like a big girl! He said it was ok and I was able to do it all by myself. I didn’t even flinch when I passed by doodles!”

“Hmm seems like you were pretty brave sunshine. Papa’s proud”

Ladybug whipped around to see a cool and relaxed Adrien, his hands in his pockets as if he strolled his happy ass all the way there, his metaphorical tail swaying lazily behind him

“Elly called me right after you stormed off. Had I known Nino was going to flake out like that I would’ve put a rain check on our date but since she had waited so long already I thought it might be time to let her start to at least walk home on her own”

His smug, triumphant smirk left a low growl in her throat. He put a hand on her shoulder and she was so tempted to smack it away.

“Come on Mari, just let it go”

Marinette sighed, god she hated it when he was right, it just killed her. She dropped her transformation and handed Elly off to her Papa to fish out her keys. Maybe she was wrong about those two, who the hell knows but, as much as she despised admitting it, they had her beat

Adrien, on the other hand, had no problem soaking in the spoils of victory! And not just because he actually got the mighty Ladybug to admit defeat. Not even close. Nope, today he could be proud of his precious little up and coming Chat Noir for swooping in with a beautiful save!

***About 10 minutes ago***

Strawberry or Lemon? Cream filling or glazed icing? These were the deep, philosophical queries that plagued the mind of a young thief as Elly debated harshly over which desserts to pull from the display case. She knew she had to be careful but she had the whole selection to herself! It was like plopping her mama down in Gabriel’s entire fabric collection. How could a girl choose!?

She was weighing the merits of a palmier over a Madeleine when her phone chirped a chiptune cover of the Steven Universe theme (#Rosedidnothingwrong). She checked the time, confused. The plan was for her papa to distract her mama for at least another hour. What’s with a call this early?

“Yes Papa-”

“ABORT MISSION! I REPEAT THE MISSION HAS FAILED. THE SPOTTED DRAGON HAS PICKED UP ON OUR PLAN. GET OUTTA THERE NOW!”

Elly’s mind went into a brief panic “BUT WHAT ABOUT THE SWEETS? THE DECOYS?”

“LEAVE THEM” Adrien yelled into the phone, his voice clearly strained from his running “THEY WON’T MATTER IF SHE CATCHES YOU. JUST RECONVENE AT THE MEETING POINT”

Eloise’s breathing grew erratic as she let her phone dangle from her hand. She looked down at the blueberry tart she held in her hand, it’s sticky sweetness coating her fingers. They were so close, sweet victory was just in their sights. But if she didn’t leave now, she was sure to be caught. Elly had to make a choice. It was now, or never again.

Her breathing slowed to a calm, even trickle, Elly put the phone back to her ear

Her voice was quiet, but assured “I’m afraid I can’t do that, sir”

“What!?” Adrien shouted in disbelief “Eloise you have less than 10 minutes before your mother walks in through that door. She has transformed into ladybug, leave the pastries behind NOW. This is not a request!”

Elly shook her head “I’m sorry papa but...we’ve come too far! We’ve gone too long without any sweets and I just...I won’t take anymore! Just...promise me...when this is all over...that we’ll share one more macaron together”

“Sunshine, listen to me!”

Elly hung up the phone, her mind decided. She took what she could and delicately placed the decoys into position. Putting all the pastries in box, she shoved them in a separate bag. 

She ran to the bathroom and threw on the clothes she had on when she left the shop that morning, stuffing the spy outfit underneath her mountain of stuffed animals. Her original clothes reeked of paint and other art products but that was the plan and she hoped against all hope that she smelled of nothing else.

She hopped back up to the balcony and scaled back down the fire escape, uncapping the paint in her backpack to smear and scuff its material all over her cheeks and knees. It wasn’t fully natural but it’s the best she had.

With her old attire on and the sweets hidden in a camo-colored box under a bush on the side of the building, Elly took a moment to clear her mind. This plan of her was not fully fleshed out. In her mama’s current rage, the slightest imperfection could tip her off. But Eloise had no choice! She was desperate and prepared to go down fighting if so called to arms. She said a quick prayer to Jegudiel, her guardian angel watching over her with his long silky ears. She would be fine, she was sure of it.

She walked around the corner with confidence, strides long and full, into the sunlight and into victory

***Present time (God Elly is so dramatic)***

As the little trio walked into the shop Marinette began to battle with some conflicting emotions. She knew her husband and daughter. They were silly, goofy little scamps that lived for a well intentioned pun. But they were also sneaky, feigning a perfectly wholesome pair while secretly hiding their devil horns beneath a glimmering crown of golden hair.

But could she be wrong about them? They were crazy when desperate sure, last month’s steven universe hiatus where Adrien and Eloise begged Gabriel to just BUY the company and force the shows on the air was proof enough of that, but perhaps when it came to her sweets they could maybe maintain a bit of self control.

‘Now there’s a thought’ She contemplated to herself ‘Perhaps they FINALLY realized that just waiting for the treats is easier than running around doing crazy stunts just to get a snack’

Marinette hummed a light chuckle. Maybe this ban wasn’t too bad of an idea after all.

She walked up to the counter display and pulled out the key to unlock the case, Reaching inside to grab an eclair to present as a peace offering and a lift of the oppressing ban on sugary goodness.

But then she felt something that was far from sticky and much closer to lumpy, poorly molded clay. And unsurprisingly…

Hell just so happened to break loose

And the poor daddy daughter pair were not even prepared for it. And why should they be? They just scored the best sweets in france AND the knowledge that they pulled one over on the mighty ladybug. Today couldn’t get any better!

But it could get worse

Oh it could get a WHOLE lot worse

As they chatted animatedly over who would be the best steven mom (SquareMom is #BestMom) Adrien began to take notice that the air was starting to grow a chilly. Frost, creeping up the window panes and breaths condensing into a silky white wind. Elly shivered and snuggled up close to her papa, tucking her chin onto his shoulder and lulling her eyes closed as she sucked up whatever warmth she could get her hands on.

She didn’t even notice the ominous presence right in front of her until it sweetly called her name

“Lovebug~” it called to her “Open your eyes for me sweetheart”

Elly yawned shakily from her frigid slumber and cracked her eyes open. Her mother’s crystalline blue eyes looked back at her, their expression hard to read. Nevertheless, she smiled at her mama lovingly, her smile small and gentle.

Marinette smiled back and held up the lumped up slab of clay shaped crudely like an eclair

“Could you please explain to mama what this is doing in my display case where a real eclair should be?”

Elly’s smile dropped from her face so hard one would’ve thought it was made of hot rocks. She shot up from her curled position in her father’s arms and looked up at him wildly, lost for answers. Adrien couldn’t even look at her much less respond. His eyes trained intensely on the frozen window and just wish Elly the best in secret. She was small and cute so she just might make it out alive.

“What’s wrong dear? Mama asked you a question” Their noses almost touched but Elly prayed to be million miles away from there “ _ Talk _ ”

Elly just spit out the first thing she could think of “IT WAS ALL PAPA’S IDEA! HE’S THE ONE THAT TOLD ME TO DO IT”

Which apparently was selling out her father. Hey, if one goes, we all go. It’s rule number one of the jungle.

“WHAT!?!?’” Adrien whipped her head back toward his frightened child “DON’T YOU PIN THIS ALL ON ME. YOU’RE THE ONE WHO SAID YOU WOULD ‘HANDLE THE DECOYS’. WHAT KIND OF HANDLING IS THAT!?!?”

But Elly was insistent “WELL IF YOU HAD JUST TOLD UNCLE NINO ABOUT THE PLAN YOU WOULDN’T HAVE COME HOME SO EARLY AND I WOULDN’T HAVE HAD TO RUSH”

“HE WOULD’VE BLABBED”

“MUCH LIKE YOU’RE DOING RIGHT NOW!?”

Back and forth the duo bickered, honestly digging themselves into a bigger hole than if they were to just shut up and say nothing. At first, Marinette was amused. Furious and blinded by rage, sure, but amused that these two numbnuts were genuinely her family, entirely her choice and can be passed off to no one else.

But then the arguing went on for 5 minutes, fine

Then 10, irritating but understandable 

15 consecutive and uninterrupted minutes went crawling by of pointless, circular bickering of who fucked up the plan more. Marinette was amazed, truly, but this had to stop since she was starting to develop a ripping headache.

With a simple snapped snap of her fingers the blonde pair stopped in their tracks, their words caught in their throat. Marinette crossed her arms over her chest and looked at them with an icy, merciless gaze.

“Listen, I actually don’t give a good god damn who it was that came up with this stupid plan. You both disobeyed a simple order and then went so far as to lie directly to my face and go behind my back. So I’ll make this short, sweet, and PAINFULLY simple. You will tell me where you’ve hid my eclairs, cream puffs and EVERYTHING else you’ve stolen from this shop before THIS-” She plucked a nearby 3-tiered tea cake stand off the counter and crushed it easily between her hands into a measly 1 tiered cake plate “-becomes BOTH of your heads”

Even if the pair WANTED to say anything neither could even begin to think cohesively enough to form the words to tell her what she wanted. It wasn’t until she tossed the plate to their feet that they regained their sanity and weakly pointed to the bush where the pastries were hidden away. 

Time seemed to drag by with cement chains as they stood in frozen fear while Marinette walked casually over to the side of the shop to retrieve all the pastries. It wasn’t like they couldn’t have turn tailed and ran, Adrien was considerably faster than his much shorter wife. But here was the problem...she knew where he lived and no amount of high tech security, confusing estate layout or even GORILLA was going to stop her (And definitely not gorilla, the man could easily take 5 or more S.O.C agents at once but a tiny woman whose bite was TREMENDOUSLY worse than her bark? Not a chance in hell)

Marinette returned with box in hand and leaned against the glass counter. She then slowly and painfully checked each and every confectionery for imperfections and cross checked it with the sloppily made clay statues. The process was overly meticulous and anal but they were going to stand there. Oh yes, and she didn’t care how long it took. They were going to stand and watch EVERY. SINGLE. GOD DAMN CHECK.

By the time the last chouquette was attractively place the sky was turning a delicate pink and blue hue. Adrien was tired and Elly was getting heavier by the minute, but he never faltered. God forbid she cracks him over the head for dropping her.

“I am done with my inspection” Marinette said calmly “You’re free to go”

The collectively sigh of relief could heard for miles

“However, since you both seem to love this shop SO much and just can’t find a way to separate yourselves from this place, I will even throw in a revision to my punishment.”

The sighs of relief were quickly replaced by sounds of confusion and apprehension

“You two can now come back to the shop. In fact I now encourage you to come in everyday all bright eyed and bushy tailed!”

Was Marinette losing it or were they because something about this was 15 different kinds of off. Adrien and Elly looked at her bug-eyed and in disbelief

Adrien was hesitant in his speech “Mari, what are you planning? You’re not this nice about things like this, you have no reason to be this nice about this”

“Really? Why not? I mean you’ll have to be as awake as possible if you’re expected to be in this shop by 6 AM starting monday, cleaning it from top to bottom until I deem it clean!”

Disbelief swiftly melted into shock and awe

“6 AM, MAMA THE BIRDS AREN’T EVEN UP BY THEN! SCHOOL WON’T HAVE STARTED FOR ANOTHER 2 HOURS” Elly shouted

“Oh dear that is is true” Marinette hummed, feigning deep thought “Well then I guess by the time you’re done you’ll be ready for the school day and have built and appetite by the time lunch comes around!”

“And when you say clean you mean?” Adrien asked, wincing preemptively for the answer

Her smile left him sick “That back kitchen is going to be shinier than your model of the year award”

As if they hadn’t learned the repercussions of their actions over the past few days, father and daughter rallied against their dietary oppressor. But Adrien, apparently being a little quicker to the draw, stopped after only a few moments of protests.

“Mari listen, I know we haven’t quite been the easiest pair to deal with-

“You’re both nightmares”

“Right but you gotta understand, we’re not just doing this for the cakes and tarts”

“I AM!”

“Ok, well, Elly is. BUT THE POINT IS, these pastries mean more than just sugar, they’re way more important and you have no idea how just blindly BANNING them will affect us”

“As sad and flowery as that plea sounds, and as much as I would just LOVE to let you two eat up my entire store...I don’t so the answer still remains a no”

Both daddy and daughter moved to step closer to beg their case but Mari suddenly grabbed a nearby broom and chased them out the shop. By the time they finished running they had all but collapsed in front of the Agreste estate.

“Papa?”

“Yes sunshine”

“Mama’s really scary”

“I know”

“Papa?”

“Yes dear”

“We left my stuff back at home”

Adrien groaned “I’ll ask Nathalie to buy you some new clothes for the week...or month”

* * *

 

**Plan D: Forgiveness**

Silence was a foreign concept to Marinette. Not everyday, slow business silence. No, that she’d grown plenty accustomed to that, especially when the bakery was in its infancy. She meant silence from her own family.

Her day usually started the same every time. Wake up to at least three different texts from Adrien, asking about which of Elly’s glittery shoes goes with which adorably ornate headband. Then, a call from Elly wishing her a good morning and telling her about her plans for the day. A call from Alya that officially get’s her out of bed and finally a final text from Adrien that’s so spicy it get’s her blood pumping enough to get her through the rest of the day.

But today she got pure radio silence. Not even her typical call from Alya since she said she was going to be too busy getting the twins ready for an upcoming family road trip.

So what could she really do in the meantime? Nothing really. She just got up much later than she really wanted to, milled about doing her regular chores and was currently just sitting and watching the people walk by the shop, occasionally stopping to ring someone up. She had an abundance of stock but she felt weird, like her stomach or heart was missing it’s usual tightness of joy. It was strange and quite frankly she didn’t like it

The clock above the doorway struck 2 and Marinette was officially over this sad, empty feeling permeating her gut. Calling out to her parents that she would be taking a break, she untied her apron, hung it by the cash register and locked up shop. As she walked out onto the busy parisian street, she breathed in a gulp of fresh air. It filled her stomach some but she still felt empty. Maybe a change of scenery would lift her mood.

In her hazy mental state she hadn’t even noticed herself stopping by the park before she heard the familiar sound of snapping cameras. She looked down from atop the stone steps and watched idly by at Adrien working yet another modeling gig. If she remembered correctly this one was for a soon to come casual clothing line. Gabriel was so inspired by his son’s new and simpler life that she supposed he wanted to reflect that in his latest fashion. “Free and fun” was supposedly going to be the tagline.

So why was Adrien looking more dead than ever?

“Adrien, honey” The photographer pleaded “You gotta give me something. I’ll take anything at this point. A smirk and weird lopsided grin, just anything that even remotely says free or fun”

The model scratched the back of his neck, ashamed “I know I know. I’m sorry I guess I’m just out of it cause my wife’s pretty mad at me right now”

The shooting crew around them took the time to call break  “Ooo a little trouble in paradise?” the photographer smirked

“Haha a little would be a gross understatement. She’s super pissed so I haven’t gotten any of my usual ‘do good at your shoot’ eclairs. It’s super depressing”

The photographer blinked confusedly at him “Well darling if it’s eclairs you want I can just send the assistant over to grab a few. I think the one across the street probably has a few good ones”

“Nah I’m ok” Adrien insisted “Trust me they won’t be as good as when she makes it and it’ll honestly feel a bit like cheating. Don’t worry I swear I’ll get my act together.”

Marinette was stunned silent for a moment. He just had a perfect opportunity to get whatever sweet he wanted and he just...passed it by. And for what? Because they weren’t hers? What does it matter? They should all taste the same anyway!

She shook the unpleasant thoughts from her head and walked off, unseen by anyone. Who was he fooling? He obviously had some idea that she was there and was just hamming it up to earn her pity.

“Just watch I’m sure that as soon as I leave he’ll be reared up and ready to go in no time. He’ll probably text me in the next two hours, bragging about how well the shoot went. Stupid kitty”

She would not be convinced. No matter how much her heart ached to see him smile again.

Before she even knew it she had managed to storm herself all the way to the park. She really had to stop emotion walking or else she was going to end up in the ocean next time.

From across the playing field she could hear the twinkling sound of Eloise’s laugh on the playground

“Aha! I’ll prove that Adrien’s just being dramatic. I’ll bet that he’s the only one feeling torn up about this whole thing. Elly’s probably forgotten all about this stupid ban.”

Marinette behind a small gathering of trees, watching expectantly as Elly played with a few neighborhood girls while he YeYe read a newspaper nearby. The girls must’ve been playing pretty hard cause each one of them were panting like they had just ran a marathon.

“Geez Elly,” one little girl wailed, exhausted. ‘Addie, I think’ Marinette hums to herself. “I’m never playing flag tag with you again. Why are you so fast, anyway?”

The other girls voice their agreement and Elly just laughs “If you think I’m any good you should try playing with my papa, she’s crazy fast!”

As they all gathered on a nearby picnic blanket Marinette felt superlatively smug. Empty still? Completely. But maybe she could drown it in a sea of superiority when she rubs it in her pretty little chaton’s face.

But the truth is often more painful than fiction

“Hey how come you don’t have your macarons Elly?” Addie inquired.

Another girl, Talia, chimed in “Yea I really wanted the raspberry one you had last time!”

Eloise’s once cheery smile began to crack, shrinking into something more somber and slightly sad. Mama did not like that. She did not like that one little bit.

“Sorry guys.” She said bashfully, rubbing the back of her neck. Like father, like daughter she supposed “I made my mama really mad so I can’t have any of her sweets for a while”

Shit, that empty feeling was starting to crawl back up her spine again. To see her little girl so sad like that killed her. She didn’t quiet know what to do and with her position up in the trees there wasn’t much she could do. All the poor mama could manage was to just sit and watch in pain.

One of the other girls with fiery red hair smiled sympathetically “It’s ok Elly.” She said, pulling a blue container from her bag “My mommy made strawberry chocolate chip cookies! You can have one if you want”

Yes! A glimmer of hope. ‘Go for it Elly!’ Marinette silently cheered ‘Take the cookie, mama won’t be mad’

But Eloise declined, her blonde hair rustling softly as she shook her head “No thanks! I really only like my mama’s. Plus she said no sweets at all and you never know when she might be watching” She finished with an ominous ‘oooo~’ to lighten the mood again.

This was insanity! It didn’t make a lick of sense! How could both of them have every sweet in the world offered at their feet and then continue to starve themselves. Was there a gas leak in the Agreste estate!?

She refused to watch any longer. Marinette hopped out of the tree she was hiding in and quickly started her walk back to the bakery. She pulled out her phone, desperate for an explanation. There HAD to be a reason and she knew the only person that was sure to have it.

“You know, the point of a road trip is to disconnect from the everyday world for JUST a few days. Why is it that you can’t seem to grasp that?”

Marinette grimaced, she TOTALLY forgot “I know and I’m super sorry for interrupting but I need your perfect, always intuitive wisdom”

“Flattery will only get you so far….luckily it’s gotten you far enough for me to listen, carry on.”

She took a deep breath “Ok so I know I set this ban on Adrien and Elly and that they totally, 110% deserve it for eating up my stock, trying to manhandle their way into just taking it, lying to my face, and even sending others to do their dirty work for them-”

“Ooo girl, Thank you for reminding me” There was a brief silence on the phone followed by the sound of a yelping Nino in pain, shouting about how ‘Everyone always aims for his DJ arm’. “Ok continue”

“But I ALSO know that they wouldn’t just do this for any old thing. They only do crazy stuff like this when it’s something they’re really passionate about, like the whole steven universe fiasco. And duh, they like my sweets, but it’s not like they couldn’t go literally ANYWHERE else and get whatever they want! Adrien’s filthy fucking rich and Elly is quiet literally an heiress to a fashion empire! So, like, what’s the big goddamn deal with my pastries!”

Marinette didn’t realize she was yelling until she noticed a few strange and...rather concerned looks being shot her way. She felt heat emanating off the tips of her ears as she cleared her throat and quietly shuffled into the bakery

“Are you done?”

“...for now”

Alya brought the phone back toward her ear, clear from the threat of deafness “Ok so I want you to humor me for a moment and answer a few questions, ok?”

“Ooooook?” She responded cautiously

“Ok first, when Elly got onto the honor roll for the first time after working until really late on that reading project, what did you do?”

She quirked her eyebrow in confusion “Uhhh made her a layered mini cake where each page was a different flavor”

“Right. now, when Adrien got really sad for getting snubbed on that really important fashion show spot, what did you surprise him with WHILE AT the after party that he was invited to (which was really fucked up by the way)”

“Made a Blackberry tart with dusted edible gold and wrote ‘Fuck those anorexic bitches’ on it with white chocolate sauce” She really had no idea where Alya was going with this

“Interesting. Finally, and I want you to really stretch your brain on this one, since the topic of the Steven Universe fiasco was brought up, what did you specially design for them just to cheer them up?”

It finally clicked and she felt the heat in her ears creep up again “....Cookie cat ice cream sandwiches”

There was an awkward silence that filled the room as she sat and let all those thoughts ruminate in her mind.

“You’ve been working with sweets your entire life, so I can see how you can get desensitized to them. But for Elly and Adrien, They are memories. Moments in time frozen in place by a flavor or texture. You’re right, Adrien could just go out and buy every macaron in the country. But what would be the point? They weren’t made by your hands, so they’ll never be made with the your love.”

Marinette groaned and face planted on the counter “I really fucked up didn’t I?”

“I wouldn’t say that” Alya replied “Their actions do have consequences. But maybe next time, try to build some time of compromise so that there’s not a civil war every time someone gets in trouble”

Marinette hummed in agreement and wished her best friend a safe trip. She looked around the shop, now dyed in a deep orange from the setting sun, and leaned off of the counter, walking aimlessly along its walls. In every corner she saw a different memory of how far they’ve come. From a small confused school project to a classic example of impulse decisions working out in the end. And they were still learning, all of them, and if Marinette had to choose between perfection and mistakes then she decided that at least the mistakes were more fun.

Marinette shot a quick text to Adrien and snatched her apron off the hook. It was gonna be a long night but she had some work to do.

* * *

 

**Last Plan: Reconciliation**

Adrien hadn’t felt this nervous in a LONG time. Sitting there on that park bench with Elly all dressed up was just killing him! He spent all night wracking his brain for any explanation as to why Marinette could possibly want to meet up on a sunday. Right now the shop should be packed with customers waiting to get desserts for sunday dinner so what would she need with them?

Adrien was going over the possibilities for the third time when Marinette came running around the corner, breathing heavy like she had ran there the whole way

“Sorry i’m late!” She huffed out “The shop is packed and I just barely got away”

Adrien moved to speak but was cut-off by Elly running past him to hug onto her mama’s leg “Hi Mama! You look really really pretty!”

Marinette laughed and kneeled down to her beautiful bouncy blond bubble-head “Why thank you lovebug. You look quite pretty yourself, your papa must’ve put in a lot of work this morning huh?”

That comment only made Elly smile wider “Nope! That’s cause I picked this outfit ALL BY MYSELF”

The mama’s eyes widened as she glanced up at her papa surprisingly “Really? No help at all?”

“Nope” Elly replied excitedly “I worked really hard last night and chose it without any help!”

Eloise showed off her floral pattern romper and and garden flower headband by spinning and watching the loose sleeves flow while her mama clapped in applause. Marinette got off of her knees and gives Adrien a chaste peck on the lips. His lips followed hers but she pulled away to give him a playful warning look. 

He may be on edge but that can’t mean he can’t have a little fun, right?

The trio make their way up a hill where a large peach tree waited, its delicate pink petals scattered all along the ground. As they sat and ate together it was as if they never missed a day without one another, laughing, singing silly songs, and Marinette even got to teach Elly how to play concentration (She could never get past the 7th item, losing interest often for something else).

When their lunch ended they were just left with each other and an uneasy tension began to sneak its way between the seemingly opposed parents.

Marinette spoke awkwardly first “Well it seems that we’ve finished off lunch”

Adrien nodded mechanically, not being brave enough to look her in the eyes “Yup”

“And that usually means it’s time for dessert”

Again he nodded “Sure does”

‘Well that conversation went nowhere fast’ Marinette grimaced ‘Think Ladybug, THINK! There has to be something cool I can say”

Adrien was honestly doing no better ‘Best way to segway into something else….uhh she looks beautiful today! No, Elly already covered that. The food was delicious! Well, duh, she made it. How about that akuma last week?....OK not that one since we literally were almost impaled”

The fumbling coupled muttered to themselves aimlessly and Elly, never the most subtle, decided to break the silence

“Mama! Papa and I made you a present!”

Marinette shook free of her thoughts and looked down at her daughter “You do?”

Elly grinned excitedly and clumsily climbed over her papa for her little lamby backpack, pulling out neatly tied pink box. She shoved the box in her hands and bounced up and down eagerly “We worked super hard on it so we hope you like it!”

Adrien tried to stop her, unsure as to how she would react but he was too slow. Marinette untied the thin strings and opened the box, pulling out something that truly shocked her.

It was a strawberry danish with black dyed cream cheese to make little ladybug spots that littered the red filling

She spoke quietly “You made this...for me?”

“Well not entirely by ourselves” Adrien admitted “We did get some help from the family chef”

***Flas** **hback***

“You want to do what now?” Victor, in all his years, had never been so confused

“We wanna make a Danish for my mama!” Elly replied matter of factly

The aging chef was incomparably baffled “But young miss-”

“Yes Old mister?” She replied cheekily (He swears he will never get over how sassily cute she could be)

“I could just MAKE a tray of danishes for you. I’d even make sure they were properly decorated for the young madam, it’d really be no trouble at all”

“But that would be missing the point!” She insisted “It won’t taste as good if we don’t make it ourselves. It won’t have the love!”

Victor looked to Adrien, hoping that he’d be the voice of reason. Adrien just shrugged and explained that he’s given up on trying to tell her otherwise

As he says “I’m just here to make sure she doesn’t hurt herself”

Ultimately Victor comes to a compromise. He leaves them a detailed recipe on what to do before leaving for the night, praying that they don’t destroy his kitchen

(Spoiler: They do)

But it’s all worth it if it meant watching Elly stare amazedly at the Danish as it baked slowly in the oven, it’s radiating warmth eventually lulling her to sleep

***Flashback End***

“Listen Mari” Adrien started, sitting Elly between his crossed legs “We’re really sorry for how we’ve been acting all week. Eating all the sales, the manipulation, the yelling, all that stuff was really not ok at all.”

“We know you were just trying to do the right thing for everyone” Elly chimed in “We’re sorry”

Marinette was at an honest loss for words. To think they went through all this trouble just for her. She couldn’t think of any way to thank them properly for their hard work.

Elly soon got antsy. “Well?” she urged “You can eat it if you want!”

She brought the tart up to her lips and took a bite, her lips smeared over with strawberry filling.

And...it was bad. Terribly bad. The crust was burned all along the bottom, Elly still doesn’t know the meaning of too much sugar, and the cream cheese was borderline sugar milk. It was imperfect in every way.

And it was the best thing she had ever tasted.

She was suddenly taken back to all those times as a little kid standing by her mom on a stool as she kneaded dough, her eyes just barely looking over the surface. All the moments she shared with her dad as his prized “Taste tester”. And all the countless hours she spent watching cookie, after cake, after puff pastry rise in the oven as the heat lulled her into a deep sleep.

It tasted just as it should. Crazy, weird, and a little nutty

Just like any family

As she broke out of her nostalgia she couldn’t help but be confused watching Adrien and Elly have a mini freak out session.

“I THOUGHT YOU SAID THE DANISH WOULD FIX THINGS” Adrien exclaimed

“I-I THOUGHT IT WOULD! MAYBE IT TASTED BAD?”

“BUT WE FOLLOWED THE RECIPE! EVEN ADDED OUR OWN STUFF TO IT”

“THEN WHY IS SHE CRYING PAPA!?”

Crying? She touched her cheek and sure enough tears flowed freely down her cheeks. Huh, she must’ve been so moved by everything that her emotions must’ve gotten the better of her.

She should probably calm them down though.

“Guys, guys, relax.” She laughed “I don’t hate it”

Elly huffed a sigh of relief “Soooo it tastes ok?”

The proud mama ruffled her hair and kissed Adrien on the cheek “It was miraculous”

“Now then,” She said, wiping away her tears “I actually have a gift for you two as well”

She gave each of them their own specially colored box (Black and Gold for Adrien, Yellow and Pink for Elly) and shifted herself to sit right in front of them

“Ok, on the count of three. Ready? One, Two, THREE”

The pair threw open their boxes to reveal specially and intricately designed pastries for the two of them.

Elly squealed in delight at her designer Panna Cotta. It was lemon and mixed berry, topped with dusted pink sugar and “LoveBug” written in strawberry syrup.

Adrien was equally psyched with his rather luxury looking eclair that was glazed in all black. It even came with his favorite shirt’s stripes coming diagonally down the middle and was topped with edible gold leaf in the corner. Not to mention it was plated with “Mon Chaton” written in beautiful chocolate cursive and accented with chocolate kitty ears.

He was stunned silent, genuinely unsure how to act. He put the eclair down beside him “Mari there’s no way we’ve earned this. I-I just couldn’t take this in good conscious”

Elly suddenly grabbed the little golden spoon that came with her pudding and ran to the other side of the tree before either of them made her give it back

“You might not be able to take it BUT I CERTAINLY CAN”

Adrien turned back to his wife “Ok well Elly’s different...she’s six she hasn’t learned shame yet”

Marinette bursted out laughing and just put the plate back into his hands “We both know that the two of you have been a nightmare but after a little while I realized why so just think of this as one more memory you can add to the box. And I’m sure we can work out some kind of compromise for when the two of you are feeling grabby. Maybe after the shop closes or something, deal?”

To see Adrien smile again filled her heart more than she could begin to say “Deal”

He wasted no time and took a heaping bite of the eclair, wiping the cream off the corner of his mouth and licking his fingers clean. She expected a rain of praise like usual, so his silence left her a little nervous.

“Does it taste ok?” She asked cautiously. He was quiet for a moment, humming in thought and looking up at falling petals.

“It’s missing something” He replied simply

Marinette stared at him bug-eyed. Missing something? What could she possibly be missing? She put in the right amount of sugar, left it in the oven for the right time, filled to capacity the way he likes. What could she be-

She was left shocked as Adrien suddenly moved in close and kissed her deeply, nearly knocking her off her seat. As he moved away she unconsciously chased after his lips and rolled her eyes at his inevitable triumphant smirk.

“Much better!” He declared “It was just missing your very special brand of sugar”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So fun fact I wanted this to come out around Halloween. And then thanksgiving. And then I just said fuck it it's about sweets let's finish it in December and not just because I just so happened to finish it then. BUT LESS ABOUT THAT MORE ABOUT SOMETHING IMPORTANT!!!!
> 
> I have ideas. LOTS OF EM. So many that I literally can't decide what to write about next sooooo YOU GUYS TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT NEXT (after leaving a sweet juicy comment ya feel me ;))  
> So we have on the docket:
> 
> Aged up fic where Elly wants to walk for the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show (And OBVIOUSLY Papa and YeYe are TOOOOOTALLY COOL WITH IT HAHAHAHA)
> 
> One where Elly and her whole class get into a three day paintball war with some upper classman (If you've ever watch The Saga of Tanya the Evil, or Youjo Senki, then I'm thinking of going kinda in that direction with Elly's character)
> 
> Elly accompanying her parents on her first patrol (Papa say no, Mama say fuck it why not
> 
> Sophie gets into a fight and no one knows why (first real look at my other precious baby's character)
> 
> Gabe gets roped into hosting a sleepover (You get to finally meet all the other adopted kids)
> 
> And finally YOUR CHOICE, LAY ME SOME SWEET IDEAS AND IF IT GETS ENOUGH PUSH I'LL DO THAT INSTEAD OF MY OWN SHITTY IDEAS
> 
> Aaaaaaand that's it. Leave a comment, tell me your favorite day, what you thought of the ending, the conflict, the family dynamic (The fact that Elly's full name is Eloise Adelais Agreste) ALL THAT SEXY STUFF IT'S LATE AND I'M FUCKING TIRED GOOD NIGHT!


End file.
